look: this, light spilling like honey from our lips. this, stars finding homes in the leftover curves of our necks, bleeding something holy into our skin. look: this, where you sang until the moon fell in love with us too. where we wrote all our sins and set them on fire and danced until the rising sun kissed wings onto our backs. look: this, the exit wound you healed by telling me it was a place for the cosmos to enter and make me whole again. this, the castles we built in our heads for each other. look: let’s go and splinter the stars. let’s run until we can fit the light in our bodies and teach it not to escape anymore. let’s run until we can find our way home again.
The suit he borrowed was too large, having to adjust the pants every few minutes even with the belt he was wearing. It was the only thing he could have worn, debating whether or not this might have been a mistake. “You got a clip or anything? If these pants keep falling, it’s going to drive me crazy.”
--- pippa had a good head on her shoulders. her father had always made a point of telling her that. the boys did, too. so of course she had a clip or something. she smiled at the young man in front of her, hands travelling down to her clutch. gloved fingers snapped it open, reaching inside. out came a small sewing kit. with a soft grin she grabbed a safety pin out, handing it to the boy.
--- “ that should do the trick for now. though you should look into getting a properly sized suit. a well-fitted suit is a wardrobe necessity. ”
“You have to let me at least try,” he said. Tony smiled at her then winced. It was not a calculated move, but an actual flinch of pain. Pissed as he was, he had to admit, Riley was a tough bastard. If they ever made up, Tony would definitely want him on his side during his next fight.
“Come on Pippa. It’s almost my birthday. Can’t you forgive me?” He sighed. “I’ll even do that thing you’ve been begging me to do with you,” he said.
His mouth went dry as he said it. He never would have done it under any other circumstances. He looked down at his hands. “Please, don’t give up on me yet.”
--- the offer --- while tempting --- wasn’t enough yet to sway her. tony could offer to go on all the picnics, kiss her a million times in the rain while romantic music played from a disembodied source, or even hold a boombox outside her god damn window, but none of that would distract from one simple fact: he had willingly beat the hell out of her best friend.
--- pippa gave her head a small shake. his voice sounded almost pleading, something she never would have expected from him. but she was quickly learning that tony lee did many unexpected things --- lots of them good, but a few of them also bad.
--- “ i ... i don’t want to, ” she stated simply, running a hand over her ponytail, “ i don’t give up on people. i never have. but i’ve also never had anyone do anything like this before. you’re a special case and i don’t know how to deal with it yet. ”
THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE, obviously, is to pout like a child. the corners of her lips turning up betrays the expression, but, really, her point is made. sinking further into her seat, ramona scrubs a hand over her face in an attempt to quell her most recent round of giggles.
❛ well, you could always invest in a disguise — like, i make a mean paper-mâché, ❜ she strokes her chin conspiratorially, eyebrows wiggling up and down.
--- at the mention of a disguise, pippa begins to stroke a very long, very invisible beard. her face screws up, brows furrowed and eyes squinting as she looks at ramona with a humorous but calculating expression.
--- “ a disguise you say ? ” she inquires, one eye opening slightly as she raises a brow. “ that may just do the trick. if nobody knows it’s me then the secondhand embarrassment from your lack of pop culture knowledge just ... disappears. ” and suddenly she’s burst into another fit of giggles, the jig up as she collapses onto the table between the two. if anybody was to be embarrassed it should be ramona --- pippa’s behaviour was far from what some would consider acceptable. especially in a small coffee shop.
donnie liked to consider himself good with his thoughts, his words. not being able to speak had allowed him to formulate sentences that were more eloquent than most. it’s a blessing and a curse, he muses, that he thinks long on words ( even now, with pip a shaking, crying mess in his arms ). for once, he doesn’t know what to say–words and thoughts running through his brain far faster than he can process. he’s on riley’s side more than he’s on tony’s ( which is no surprise there ), but he doesn’t need to rub what happened in her face more than it already has been. all he really wanted to do was pick pippa up, plop her into his bed, and surround her with all of her favorite things: donnie being one of them.
well, hopefully. a selfish thought, he knows. he as a lot of those about pippa.
he breathes out deeply when she reaches for his hand, fingers threading automatically with how much they have done this before. it calms his heart and sends it into a frenzy all the same, and with pippa this close, donnie slightly wonders if she’s able to hear it–pressed against his chest as close as she is. he feels almost a little ashamed thinking such thoughts. pippa had come to him in a time of need and comfort, and here he was, allowing his year long thoughts of how much he loved her clouding his judgement.
but god does her hand fit so well in his own. slender and small. he wants to hold it forever.
donnie doesn’t unlace their fingers as he reaches up to type against the screen of his phone once again. the angle is awkward, but he’s okay with the slight ache in his wrist it gives him if it means he can keep holding pippa’s hand. he pauses though, grip going lax and causing his phone to fall into his lap. maybe i’m the idiot. if donnie could scream he would. scream and shake pippa’s shoulders for saying such an asinine thing. breath leaves his chest as though he’s been punched, and he gets up from behind pippa to move and sit down in front of her instead. donnie wouldn’t consider himself a serious person, in fact he liked to think he was the opposite, but sitting in front of her now there is no other emotion on his face–eyebrows furred down, lips drawn into a tight line. he quickly picks up his phone, fingers all but flying across the screen now as he types. after a few moments he sets it down in front of them, pressing the small play button before reaching out and grabbing her cheeks softly in both palms of his hands.
❝ pippa zapada you’re the furthest thing from an idiot. if anything, tony is the idiot. riley too. ❞ he takes a stuttering breath as the monotone voice of his phone continues. ❝ how were you supposed to know that tony was going to be that way?. ❞ donnie had an idea, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. ❝ you’re amazing pippa, and it’s his fucking loss. you’re amazing. ❞
the room goes silent after his small mechanical speech, but even so donnie still brings his hands up. it had been so long since he signed, but he still wanted to get his point across. long fingers curl into each other before separating, the action feeling a little foreign to him now. he mouths the word in time with his hands.
you’re amazing.
--- the moment the words leave pippa’s mouth she knows donnie is going to have something to say about it. it was to be expected --- there was nobody in the world who could lift her up quite like he did --- but what she hadn’t been predicting was how intense it would be. his eyes met hers, and she could see him searching her face for some sort of explanation. an explanation as to why she would blame herself for feeling hurt over the actions of others. part of her wonders, too. it was completely characteristic of her to get worked up over things that made no sense --- even she knew that about herself. but donnie looked at her with a seriousness she rarely saw on his face and it was clear that this was not like any other time she had gotten too emotional. something about this hurt him too, and that almost felt worse.
--- he’s typing as quickly as he can but it seems as though his thumbs are having issue keeping up with his brain. the concentrated look on his face is speckled with frustration --- a quirk of the lip, a deeper furrow of the brow as he presses down harder than necessary on the back space key. pippa could feel her heart pounding in anticipation of what he might say. like a bird stuck in a cage, or a fist connecting with her ribs. only moments have passed when he finally places the phone in between the two of them, letting his words play out like a monotonous song as his large hands come to cup her face.
--- then, the look in his eyes is so sincere. still serious --- still trying to hide an ache --- but less so. it’s as if his gaze melts into hers. his eyes continue to search, but no longer for answers. for feeling. for a response. for any kind of acknowledgement of the fact that he feels so strongly his breath struggles in his chest. pippa has to use all her might to will away the prickling feeling on the backs of her eyelids. she wants to respond, and she knows he’s waiting expectantly for what she’s going to say, but all she can manage is to close her eyes and let the silence envelope them. the room is quite as a morgue save for the sound of two bated breaths. it’s his loss.
--- donnie’s hands fall from her cheeks when she least expects, and her eyes split open. where his fingertips ghosted over her jawline she’s certain she feels a tingle. now it’s her with the searching gaze. her wondering if the response she gave ( or didn’t give ) wasn’t what he wanted. he points at her ( the sign for you ) and then his hand passes in front of his face twice, fingers half-spread as his hand moves from the top of his jaw to just below his chin. she’s not one for lip-reading, but what donnie was saying was clear, and she knew how badly he wanted her to know just what he thought. that she was amazing.
--- the corners of her mouth break into a smile, but she looks down at her own hands rather than meeting donnie’s eyes. she moves forward just a tad, scooting close enough to him that their knees touch, and then lets her hand find his, interlocking their fingers once more. leaning forward slightly, she brings their joined hands up to her face and rests her cheek on his knuckles.
--- “ maybe i should just stop looking for a random guy and be with you. ” her tone is teasing, but the words hold an underlying honesty that she’s not sure donnie notices. “ i think i’d be a lot better off. happier. ”
“I told you I was coming,” he said. He couldn’t believe it himself as he said it. Tony wasn’t sure he was going to come over until he was parking his motorcycle in front of her house, his legs taking long strides to her door. “I don’t mind. Can I come in? Or do you want to do this out here?”
It was phrased like a question, but he had no intention of leaving until they had it out one way or another. They could either air their dirty laundry in public or in the safety of her place. Her choice, but not really a choice.
“Come on. I hardly look like Prince Charming right now,” he said. Tony referred to the black eye and bruises along his jawline. No bones were broken, but there was definitely a sprain.
--- a heavy sigh escaped her, masking the quiet laugh that bubbled in her throat at the prince charming comment. did she want to let him in ? with donnie upstairs likely waiting for her to come back ? did she even want to speak with him after what he had done ? she was unsure. a few more moments behind the barely opened door, and she finally decided to let tony inside. she pulled the door open and took a step back, inviting him in.
--- she hadn’t seen him or riley since the day before, when the cuts and bruises hadn’t fully formed. now, seeing tony with a black eye and various purple bruises all over his face, she felt her stomach lurch. she closed the door behind the two of them before turning to tony, her hand coming up to softly trace down the side of his jawline.
--- “ riley got some good hits in, i see. ” she mumbled, “ though i doubt he looks much better. ” her arm dropped back down to her side, but her gaze stayed locked with tony’s. “ i’m still upset with you, by the way. so don’t think you can just ... charm away my anger or something. ” even though it was hard to be mad at him when he was all banged up like that.
HER BROWS FURROW – just for a moment ! the poor girl was just realizing her own naiveté. she tries to hide a laugh behind the slowly - cooling mocha in her hand, but on a scale of one to successful, ramona’s coming it at a solid two.
❛ wait, i just sounded so homeschooled, didn’t i ? wow, definitely still getting used to this – this human interaction thing … i guess ? ❜
--- pippa grinned, eyes rolling playfully at ramona’s remark. having gone through a brief period of homeschooling herself, the understood the feeling of separation it could cause. however, that didn’t stop some of the things ramona said from being hilarious.
--- “ you’ll get it soon enough, i’m sure, ” pippa replied with a grin. “ and then i won’t be afraid to be seen with you in public. ” she poked at her friend playfully before taking a sip of her own drink.
donnie isn’t exactly sure what happened. all he knew was that riley had sent him a text ( short and to the point, like they usually are ) that he wouldn’t be coming home for a little while. which was…odd, considering home was one of riley’s favorite places to be–but donnie hadn’t really thought too much of it, swiping the notification away so he could get back to his lazy game of candy crush. it was really all he was doing today, if he was being honest, getting high and playing video games. it had taken him ages to get the soot and grime from the mines out of his hair and out from underneath his nails when he got home late from work last night. there wasn’t much he wanted to do on his rare days off, more than content laying in his bed or lazing around the house with the rest of his roommates that happened to be home as well. so he’s not exactly expecting the soft knock on his door from pippa ( though it’s never unwelcome ), and he’s certainly not expecting to be met with a face full of large, studio ghibli tears.
he watches with wide eyes as she leans against his door frame, looking like a true scarlett o’hara as she slowly slinks down towards the floor. in any other situation donnie would have found this hilarious, pippa was always known for her dramatics, but these tears seemed real. his mouth opens as though he’s going to say something, but then he remembers he can’t say anything at all, body frozen to the bed as he watches her hiccup and choke on the sobs bubbling out of her throat. his chest hurts, he finds, painful and ripping seeing the girl he loves like this. he can’t help but wonder if something happened with tony–a thought that leaves a bitter taste in his mouth–and when his brain finally decides to connect to the rest of his body, donnie is getting caught in his sheets and stumbling out of his bed before he finally makes his way over to her.
there is no hesitation as he sits down in front of her, back leaned against the door frame and legs resting on either side of her so he can pull pippa so softly into his arms. he plants his feet on the floor then, bringing his long legs up so his knees are bracketing her in, all but curling himself around her in hopes that the comfort will help her feel at least slightly better. donnie wants to say he’s surprised that riley and tony got into a fight, honestly a little part of him is, but the way riley’s frustration had been growing due to the situation–well, donnie would say it was only a matter of time. he can’t help but be pleased by the fact that riley got a few good hits in, though. the darker part of him thinking it’s exactly what tony deserved. nobody messed with their girl.
( another part hoped that it was finally over. that pippa was a free woman again. that he would finally get the courage to tell her how he felt ).
his arms wrap around her tiny frame, forearms resting on his knees so he can bring his phone out to start typing. there’s a few moment of silence, save for the sound of his fingers across the screen, before that mechanical voice he’s grown so accustomed to rings out in his tiny room.
❝ give riley some time, he’ll come around and then we can both yell at him. ❞ he wished there was at least some infliction in the voice speaking his words for him, letting pippa know he was teasing. he had a feeling she would get it, though. she always did. softly his nose finds it’s way towards pippa’s temple, giving it a small nudge to remind her that he was here. ❝ you’re right, they are idiots. you have every reason to be mad, pips. ❞ he tilts his head softly, looking down at pippa to give her a soft smile. the hand that’s not holding his phone comes up to wipe away some of the tears from her cheeks before resuming position. ❝ take a deep breath, okay? breathe with me. ❞ donnie inhales slowly, holds it for a moment, before exhaling. he does this a few more times until he can feel pippa’s chest rising and falling the same as his own.
--- pippa hadn’t looked up to see donnie approach her. she could slightly hear the sound of his feet on the floor as he walked over to her, but it was muffled through the sounds of her cries reverberating in her ears. she hadn’t realized how badly she needed touch until she felt his hands on her. soft but firm as he guides her back gently away from the door frame so that he can seat himself behind her. her body all but melts into his as she leans back into him, feeling the soothing beating of his heart and pattern of his breathing against her back. he’s so warm and inviting and when his legs wrap around hers and his arms wind their way around her she lets out a deep, shaky breath. head lolling back into his chest, she closes her eyes as more tears flow down her cheeks. she can hear the sound of his thumbs rapidly tapping against his phone screen. she had grown quieter now, the feeling of donnie’s body against hers calming her enough that she could focus on trying to breathe.
--- the sound of his ‘voice’, though monotonous, was soothing. she couldn’t help the soft exhale through her nose at donnie’s first remark. the closest donnie got to yelling was nothing more than typing in all caps, following the sentence with a generous serving of exclamation points. of course, the program he used didn’t pick up on that ( only repeating exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point over and over ) so he sounded the same as he always did, but the effort was appreciated. she pushed herself back a little more, snuggling into him and letting her head roll to the side so that she was able to see him out of the corner of her eye. a soft, contented sound managed to leave her in between more shaky breaths as he nudged her temple with his nose. with donnie it was easier for her to listen to reason than it was with most other people. he always seemed to know exactly what to say, even in moments where she had no idea what she wanted to hear. she sniffled as he wiped a few stray tears from her face. her eyes were sore and puffy, half closed and bright red as she looked up at him, listening to the words that droned out of his phone.
--- as she began to breathe in time with him another wave of calm crashed over her. the unsteady pattern of her breath began to even out, and soon, aside from the occasional sniffle, the tears had stopped. she let out a deep sigh, her hand finding donnie’s so that she could lace their fingers together.
--- “ i just feel like they should have known better. y’know ? ” her voice was soft and even, not yet a whisper but it was obvious the intense emotion had passed. “ especially riley. he knows better than anybody how that would make me feel and he just ... did it anyways. and i know it’s none of my business because i don’t know why they fought ... i know they have history ... but still. ” she couldn’t seem to get her thoughts together. they had all jumbled in her head and were fighting for the main stage.
--- “ and i don’t even know what to think of tony. he didn’t seem like the type to do something so brash like that. but i suppose i don’t know him well enough to determine that, hmm ? ” she laughed, but it was flat. dry. her head fell into her free hand. “ maybe i’m the idiot. ”
Tony wasn’t exactly used to apologizing. He preferred denying it was his fault and then ghosting. But Pippa was a nice girl and being at odds with Riley put a pit in his stomach. He sighed and knocked on the door of her home, hoping Riles was not around. He’d never been to another person’s place, except to hook up. He doubted that was going to happen. Before the door even opened, the words spilled out. “I’m sorry.”
--- pippa hadn’t believed tony when he told her he was coming over. she figured he had just said it in hopes she would reply with a simple don’t so that it looked like he had tried and she had been the one to shut him down. so when she heard a knock at the door her stomach dropped slightly. she looked like shit. hair up in a messy ponytail, in the same pajamas she had been wearing for three days --- baby blue bottoms donning various small dogs and a large shirt of donnie’s with some strange band logo on it. when she opens the door it’s only a crack, and she hears the apology spill from his lips before she even sees him. she lets the door remain mostly closed as she replies, voice flat.
--- “ i didn’t think you’d actually come here. i’m not properly dressed. ”
--- of all the ways pippa had expected this day to go, this had not been one of them. riley was gone --- she had no idea where --- after her little outburst. favouring to be anywhere other than in their home where he had to deal with her. and while she understood, it was a strange feeling. yes, she was still angry. it would be silly to expect anything else, given the fact she had found him pummeling the guy she was seeing in the middle of a coffee shop. the entire car ride home had consisted of pippa yelling, crying, or silently staring out the window like she was in an early 2000′s music video, and when they got home she got out of the car and riley drove away without a word. tony had texted her numerous times, but she ignored it. she didn’t want to talk to him either. he knew she and riley were best friends, and it was obvious he hadn’t only been on the receiving end in the fight. riley had been pretty banged up as well.
--- when she got inside it took all her energy to make it into her bedroom, where she collapsed onto the floor and continued crying. was it dramatic ? maybe a little bit. but pippa never felt this way. angry. hurt. betrayed by those who she cared about. part of her was even a tad upset with herself for feeling this way in the first place. it wasn’t really her place to be upset with them over something that didn’t involve her. but in some way it still felt like it did. she was mad that they would do something so reckless, and even more angry still that they would try to hurt one another knowing how she felt about them both. after fifteen minutes of ugly sobbing on the floor of her bedroom she finally dragged herself up. if she was going to be upset she didn’t want to be upset alone. and while she really just wanted to talk to riley, to fix things with him, she knew that it wasn’t an option. she knew him well enough to know he needed time, and that was the only thing that could solve this. and so, she slowly shuffled her way down the hall until she reached the last door at the very end. her hand raised up and she knocked softly on the wood before slowly opening the door.
--- the moment she saw donnie the tears which had just stopped falling began to well up in her eyes again. she slumped against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest and sighing deeply.
--- “ every boy sucks besides you, ” she choked out, her words decorated with soft sobs. a hiccup followed her statement, and she felt herself slumping even further down, back sliding against the wall until she was sitting in donnie’s doorway staring at him from across the room.
--- “ riley left, and i don’t know where he is !! him and tony beat the hell out of each other and then i yelled at him and he just left, donnie !! and tony is texting me but all i wanna do is yell at him too !! they’re idiots !! ” her voice kept raising until it finally broke and disappeared into bawling. she brought her legs up to her chest, resting her forehead on her knees as she continued to cry.
lithe, long fingers tap quickly across the cracked screen of his phone–eyebrows furrowed, button nose scrunched in concentration as donnie types away with years of practiced ease. his shoulders are hunched in as though to make him appear smaller, lips dipping down into a slight frown as he focuses on the words before him. a few moments of silence go by before his whole demeanor seems to change, and in only a matter of seconds he is nothing like the man he was only minutes before. the apples of his cheeks go round with a smile, the corner of his eyes crinkling with happiness as he holds his phone out proudly. the voice that emits from it is nothing but mechanical ( though british, because donnie finds that hilarious ), but it always gets the point across.
and it helped. donnie couldn’t use his voice, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have one.
❝ there’s a special going on down at the doughnut place. two for one! ❞ he didn’t have work today, which meant that he had spent most of the afternoon lounging on the couch with a joint between his lips. the munchies were hitting him hard. he scrunches his nose once more, eyes narrowing playfully. ❝ my treat? ❞
--- the look on pippa’s face was a cross between adoration and amusement as she watched donnie tapping away at his phone. the way his face screwed up into a look of dissatisfaction as he corrected what he was typing, before melting into an expression of pure joy. if it were a plausible choice, she would sit for hours watching him as his mind danced in it’s own little world. trying to decipher what he was thinking had gotten easier over the years compared to when the two first met, but she still found herself often hanging on the lifeline of his robotic, british cellphone voice for support. she rested her head against the back of the couch. her legs, which rested lazily across donnie’s lap, were beginning to go numb from hours of hazy conversation that kept her glued to her spot on the sofa. her eyes followed back and forth as donnie smoked, occasionally drifting closed only to be jolted back open by a cough or a body quaking but silent laugh from the other.
--- at the offer of donuts, though, her eyes light up and she’s sitting up so quickly she rolls off the couch entirely. when she hits the ground with a resounding thud she begins to laugh, laying down on the ground rather than trying to fight gravity by standing up. the weed clouding her brain seems to glue all but her arm to the floor, which reaches up towards donnie with an outstretched hand.
— “ OOF, ” was the response to the hug, if only for effect. pippa weighed less than a bag of grapes and he held her up with ease as she settled in. for a good second, he hugged her back, suddenly realising that the empty, exhausted feeling he’d been having ( more poignant than usual ) was because pippa wasn’t there to pick up his pieces. “ missed you too, i guess.”
— as this was probably the hundredth time he’d had to carry someone in the past seven days, he knew exactly how to hold her so she wouldn’t slip off and he wouldn’t go toppling backwards. “ you mean more eventful than the poop left next to mr astrakhan’s toilet ? ” he started taking slow steps forward, heading for the couch. “ jeez, i feel like i’m carrying a bun in the oven –”
--- this. this was everything. throwing her head back, a joyful sound emitted from her, bubbling up into the air like a song. mr. astrakhan’s poop incident --- aptly dubbed the shitstorm --- had been crazy, there was no denying that, but she considered advances in her love life to be slightly more important than the bowel movements of an elderly man.
--- “ more eventful than that, yes, ” she giggled, sighing happily as the two reached the couch. riley fell back, bringing her down with him. now seated in his lap, she leaned back so that her head was leaning on the arm of the couch. “ i think i may have like ... actually met someone ? ” the thought alone made her stomach fill to the brim with a glittery, unfamiliar feeling. the feeling she read about in books about love.
--- “ i actually went out !! on halloween !! with a guy !! his ex-girlfriend was there and kinda seemed like she wanted to murder me the whole time but aside from that it was ... sorta really great. not as great as our shut-in halloween tradition but it was getting there for sure. ”
hair still wet from his shower, riley entered the lounge with arms open, like he expected to be launched at – with a hug, or with questions.
as soon as he got home, he’d avoided everyone, dying to take that shower and to strip himself from the dirt and muck of spending so much time with his baby cousins, all of whom acted like they’d never seen mud before and had mud-related activities daily. and as the biggest cousin, of course, he had to babysit. it was much too much for two weeks, and he hadn’t studied at all. he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing yet.
but now back in the sanctity of the lounge, wearing one of pippa’s fluffier sweaters that she’d made for him, and pyjama-pants and socks he’d warmed by the heater – he was ready to relax. if not for that sense in the air like he’d missed something while he was gone.
--- for pippa, having riley gone was like having a piece of herself missing. even if it was only for a little over a week, it was still strange being unable to curl up on the couch with him and tell him about her day. whether it was particularly disgusting houses she cleaned or certain french men, riley heard it all. sure, she had been giving him text updates every few hours, but nothing was the same as seeing him in person ( though sleeping in the hoodie he left her definitely helped ease the ache a little bit ).
--- the day he was to come home was marked on the calendar, and pippa had been planning on being awake when he arrived early that morning. however, she had been out quite late the night before and even her alarm wasn’t able to wake her from her slumber. she ended up rolling out of bed after the sun had already peaked at it’s highest point in the sky. when she wandered into the lounge to see riley standing with arms outstretched, she could not contain the joy that pulled the corners of her lips into a crazy smile. in a few quick bounds she was across the room, launching herself at him like a baby koala.
--- “ i missed you so much, my lovely friend. ” she cooed, resting her chin on his shoulder so that she could lean her head into his neck. “ and i have a lot to tell you. i swear i had the most eventful time of my life the one time you were gone. ”
that’s pippa zăpadă walking down the street, the twenty four year old, who looks like lily collins. here in apple peak, they are a maid. some say she acts like snow white from snow white and the seven dwarves, since she can be generous & innocent, but also a little bit too trusting & blindly optimistic.
yay !! an intro after all this time !! this is gonna be shit but letsaGOOOOO
there isn’t much point in talking about pippa’s early childhood bc it’s fairly stock
she grew up w/ a decent amount of money in a lovely, huge cottage just outside apple peak
her dad was an accountant and her mom was a housewife who stayed home to take care of pippa, so she and her mom always had a closer relationship than she had with her dad
this is what made coping with her mother falling ill so hard to handle
pippa still to this day doesn’t know what exactly killed her mother. her dad refused to tell her. all she remembers is that her favourite person in the world was fine one day and unrecognizable the next
she was delusional and childlike up until the day she died, and pippa spent much of her time reading her mother stories and brushing her hair and painting with her
she died when pippa was eight, and that’s when it began
it being her father’s long string of girlfriends, fiances, and wives
now, pippa hates to think badly of him for this. as she grew older she began to realize that he was just trying to fill the hole in his heart where her mother had been, and he wanted to find a mother figure for pippa to look up to
however, pippa just felt like her dad was trying to replace her mom. their already strained relationship became even more so over the years through his numerous marriages and subsequent divorces
after the death of her mother pippa became somewhat of a shut in. rather than go out and play she would just sit at home reading or playing with dolls.
aside from school she never really saw anybody, and she only attended school twice a week anyways. the rest of her education was online.
she basically never saw her dad. the closest she got to him was his string of lady loves who would always say how much he loved his daughter.
when she was 18, he met hilda
pippa generally likes to phase this part of her life out. her father marrying a woman only two years older than her was a very uncomfortable thing and her personality and hilda’s did not match
she could tell from the very beginning that hilda was only pretending to like her, and as someone who always tries to see the best in people she was quite conflicted.
after giving it her best shot but feeling much too uncomfortable to put her energy into having a relationship with her father’s new love, pippa gave up on being nice and just became impartial
she didn’t go to the wedding, and she considers it to be one of the worst things she’s ever done
after the wedding when hilda moved in, pippa started doing the opposite of what she had done before
instead of never leaving the house, she was very rarely home. it was easier not to see her father and stepmother than it was to pretend to enjoy either’s company
she found a job as a maid so that she could save up to eventually move out, and when she was 20 she actually did, despite the objections of her father
she moved into a huge house with 7 roommates --- all of whom were men. it was quite strange and awkward at first, but it was the best she could afford on what she was making and eventually she grew very close with all of them
hilda never told her when her father fell ill
pippa had gone low contact with him after moving, only calling on holidays or his birthday to speak with him
he died when she was 22
for some reason she had also been written out of the will and so she got zilch when he passed. she chocks this up to hilda but the truth is she believes it to be her own fault for leaving
she just doesnt like to think her father would do that to her so she places the blame on his evil widow
now she’s just living her life, cleaning houses, doin her thing
she misses her father dearly and wishes they had been able to make amends before he died
her biggest regret is the fact that she spent her whole life icing him out when he was actually trying to make things better for her after her mother’s passing
oopsily doopsily guess pippa isn’t as perfect as she likes to portray herself as lmao
i’ll add more to this eventually but for now it’s just gonna be a disaster w/ a pretty edit attached HEHEHEHEHe
Tony was not used to people knocking on his door. He never invited anyone back to his place, even for a hookup. Only his friends were invited back to his place. In fact, they were the only sleepovers he had there. The kind that usually involved video games instead of fucking, which was a rare thing for him. So, he assumed he had a package and wanted to give the mailman a thrill. He didn’t expect Pippa of all people.
“Well, isn’t this a nice surprise. Sorry, I’m a mess. I was working out,” he said.
He realized it was cold and his gentlemanly instincts took over. He opened the door wider. “Come on in while I get dressed. I’ll get you that breakfast I promised.”
He looked at his workout gear and then back at Pippa. His eyes glinted. “Would you mind if I finished some pull-ups first?”
--- the positive reaction her showing up garnered from him was enough to calm her pounding heart slightly. it wasn’t just the fact that he was half-naked that was driving her crazy. it was just him in general. sure, he had come off as somewhat arrogant and abrasive at first, but a lot of that had to do with his bold personality. it was something pippa wasn’t used to, but after spending a few days with him had started to enjoy. there was a gentleman under the rough exterior --- you just had to dig a little deeper.
--- she accepted his invitation inside with a smile, dark eyes darting around to take in her surroundings. the whole place smelled like him; musky and woodsy and inviting. the bearskin rug on the floor caught her slightly by surprise, but it seemed like a very tony decoration. she took a seat on the couch --- right on the edge with legs politely crossed. it was too early on for her to be lounging back on his couch like she owned it. when he mentioned the pull-ups her eyes widened again, and she sat up a tad straighter before she spoke.
--- “ oh ! of course. don’t mind me. i was the one who interrupted after all. ” her voice was an octave higher than she wanted it to be ---- a sure indicator of the fact that she was feeling more than a little flustered at the whole situation. she cleared her throat, smoothing out the blue fabric of her dress, “ i can wait. ”
