Lunchtime was one of Harley's favorite parts of the day, not because of the food - though it was a perk - but because it was one of the few moments she had for herself. Even if it was a quick thirty-minute break between lessons, it meant thirty minutes of quiet bliss. At the beginning of motherhood, Harley felt guilty about feeling this way but now after almost six years she was at ease with it. As she waited for her food, she observed the other patrons around the room when she spotted a familiar face, waving in greeting, "Hey, didn't take you for a fan of vegan food. Have you ordered yet?” @shstarters
Jae sighed as he knocked on their door leaning against it with a sigh. “Oh come on you can’t be that mad at me.” He said putting on his best smile hoping the other would open the door. “What is so bad about what I did? You had a good time right?”
Harley swung the door open, hoping Jae would at least scramble a bit at the suddenness of it. She was feeling petty like that. “God, you’re a persistent little shit, huh?” The night before Harley had gone to Dance Again for a birthday party, vowing to only stay for a bit but then Jae had somehow convinced her to stay a bit longer meaning she had barely four hours of sleep that night. “I’m never partying with you youngsters again. You want some coffee?” She might be annoyed but Harley still had manners, waving her hand to indicate that he could come inside.
even at such a young age, celeste had always been the life of the party. her first childhood memory was being in such a fancy lunch with her parents’ business partners, which always bored her to death. but as time goes by, she somehow got immune to it and managed to wing it as if she actually is interested in all the things being done in such boring gatherings. as she ages, this shaped her into becoming the center of attention in every place she goes. right now, she’s definitely having the time of her life with her friends. “hey…” she murmured, clearly drunken. “what are you doing at the back? you should be… having fun out there, flirting and taking shots from left to right.” she whispered as she grinned. “or, you could… dance with me right there!” @shstarters
Even after three years of being back to her hometown, Harley still felt disconcerted being places that meant so much when she was younger, where she had her first date, her first fight, her first underage drink. It made her laugh as well as cringe at her past self. Tonight though, after three beers, she felt content, watching as people moved around her. It was then that a cute redhead showed up out of nowhere, obviously drunk but still managing to pull a smile out of Harley. “Oh no, I haven’t done a shot since college,” Harley laughed, laying a steadying hand on the girl’s arm as people moved past them, worried she might fall over. A pop song she had never heard played and Harley did a little shimmy, “Dancing sounds fun though.”
is that [ MEGAN FOX ] no, that’s just [ HARLEY BYRNE ]. [ SHE ] is [ THIRTY-THREE ] years old and is a [ BALLROOM DANCE TEACHER AT EN POINTE ]. rumor has it they’ve been in town for [ THREE YEARS ]. on a good day, they’re [ CREATIVE & DEPENDABLE ]. but watch out! they can also be [ BLUNT & SELF-DEPRECATING ]. [ BETWEEN TWO LUNGS BY FLORENCE + THE MACHINE ] plays in my head whenever i think of them. can’t wait to see them around springhill!
@shstarters
hello beautiful people, i’m julia and its been a while since i last rped so i’m pumped to be here! if you’d like to plot with my babe harley do send me a message, i’ll be reaching out as well asap. now for harley’s intro!
basics
full name: harley elizabeth byrne
date of birth: september 9th, 1986
place of birth: spring hill, nj
occupation: ballroom dance teacher at en pointe
sexual orientation: lesbian
relationship status: widow single
education: design major, dance minor from the university of san francisco
family: billie (5yo daughter), sibling (34+), father (npc), mother (npc)
born and raised in spring hill, harley is the youngest child of the byrne family. she was a good kid growing up, got good grades even though the teachers complained that she talked too much during class;
(TW HOMOPHOBIA) when she was sixteen her mom caught her making out with her best girlfriend and that started a war at the byrne’s home: mom made sure it was known she didn’t approve of it while dad tried to keep the peace;
so it was no surprise when harley decided to move to san francisco for college and never came back. she kept in touch with her sibling and her dad but her mom refused to support her “lifestyle”;
harley graduated from the university of san francisco with a major in design and minor in dance. dancing had always been something harley loved but she never aimed to profit from it, it was a way to express herself. and it was through dance that she met her future wife, alice;
harley used to go to this bar that had jive nights and one night a cute blonde caught her eye. they had actually been at college together but had never met before and they hit it off right away: alice was an architect, she loved the jive, and had the best laugh;
after four years together, harley and alice got married, to the horror of harley’s mom who didn’t even send a gift to the newlyweds. that was the last straw for harley, who stopped trying to get her mom on her side;
alice and harley decided to have a child after two years of marriage. alice had always dreamt of going through pregnancy so when the time came it was obvious who would carry their baby for nine months, and on december 24th, 2014, baby billie was born;
(TW DEATH) harley had never imagined her life would be so complete, she had a wife she adored, a beautiful daughter, a job she loved. so of course that’s when tragedy struck. it was a normal day like any other when alice suffered an aneurysm on her way back from work and harley’s world flipped upside down;
things weren’t easy without alice. harley had two very close friends in san francisco that moved in with her to help but she still struggled to work, cook, clean, look after her daughter, and grieve so after much nagging by her sibling, harley agreed to move back to springhill.
now
it's been 4 years since alice passed away, three years since harley moved back to springhill, and while things have been going well, harley still struggles without her wife. her family has been very supportive though, including her mom for once;
been teaching at en pointe for a year and a half now and she loves it! teaches ballroom at all levels, also does a lot of private lessons for couples who want to learn to dance together;
with billie starting kindergarten soon, harley has been thinking a bit more about her own life and recently went on a date for the first time in 12 years which felt good but also really weird.
possible connections
sibling [34+] - any gender, the person harley gets along the best in her family, they’ve been tight since harley moved away for college, always facetiming and texting each other, billie’s favorite person after harley
ex best friend/crush [33-35] - the girl who used to be harley’s best friend and first love during highschool
the beard [33-35] - the boy harley used to “date” in highschool, very much the “pure of heart dumb of ass + lesbian” dynamic back then
childhood friends [32-36] - highschool friends, maybe harley kept in touch with them through the years, maybe not
parents club [any age] - a group of parents harley met when she moved back to springhill and they began hanging out, sharing their stories of parenthood and being there for each other
running buddy [any age] - harley runs every day so having a running buddy would be cute
dates [25+] - harley is starting to date again so i’d love to have a couple of people she went on/will go on dates with, maybe it was a terrible date or they became good friends, i’m game for anything