heartstrings.

multi-muse victoria george (sub) ryker jones (switch) henley matthews (domme) callum hastings (sub) mackenzie veleno (sub) silas navarro (dom) dependent (silvercreekhq)

[heartstrlngs]

braedenmerrick​:​

Braeden had been surprised but glad to hear from Henley.  It had been a little while since they’d talked or seen each other but he was glad she was in town and glad that he was around for her to contact him.  He got to their table a tad early but was surprised she wasn’t there yet, Punctuality was something Henley valued a great deal.  But she was also busy so he’d wait.

Smiling when he heard her voice, he stood up as she got to the table and sat down before Brae followed suit.  He reached over and placed his other hand over hers as he scooted in as well.  “I know you do but no worries, I figured it had to be something you couldn’t help,” he replied with a chuckle of his own.  “Given up, nah I wouldn’t do that.  So what did keep you, hopefully not a troublesome client.”

xxx

Gaze drops to the hand he places over hers and Henley smiles, giving his another squeeze before gently and slowly sliding it back across the table towards herself. “No, I actually forgot my stuff at the client’s place, believe it or not.” She rolls her eyes at herself but waves it off soon after.

“It’s so good to see you, though! You look handsome as ever,” Henley chuckles, head tilting to the side as nails absentmindedly tap against the table. “It’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it? Let’s order something then I wanna hear all about what’s been going on with you, yeah?”

[heartstrlngs]

sctisfieds​:

⌜

    “Katherine Hansen, but everyone calls me Katie.” Her attention is turned to the bartender, only momentarily to apologize for the mess she’d made. Taking a sip of her extremely boring screwdriver, she looked the woman over. “Right, the infamous rivals of the Vance’s, right?” All the records she’d found had always pitted the two against each other – at least until the last few years. “Do you have any interest in picking up where your grandparents left off?”

xxx

Vicky wrinkles her nose at the mention, the corners of her lips slow and gradually curving upwards until it shapes into something akin to a smile. “So I’m told, yes.” A rivalry she’s never fed, but one that just seems to be demanded of all involved parties. Victoria can’t help but snicker at the question, the strange sound followed by a scoff and she smiles properly now, blue eyes glancing over at the woman - Katie. “Take a long hard look at me... Does anything about me seem political to you?” She teases with a chuckle, shaking her head. “Nah, that’s not really my thing.”

[heartstrlngs]

sylviafm​:

“Get fucked, buddy!” She called toward the man who had tried to seduce her toward his yacht. Or, she didn’t know, probably his daddy’s yacht. There were a lot in the harbour, more docked up in the beach. She refused to have herself taken anywhere close to any of them. They reeked of republican.

She slumped next to the water, pulling her coat off, the white tank top she wore baggy underneath. Her black lace bralette was a day old but not stained, unlike a few of her other pieces of clothing. Her shorts were ripped pale denim, and her timberlands were on her feet as they usually were. Not that they made much of a difference. She was still shorter than everyone.

She was interrupted by a guy she had clocked a mile off - as she was known to do with pretty people. With hot people. She thought it perfectly unfair that he chose to speak to her. Making her a whore on a fine Tuesday afternoon.

“Sure.” She said, smiling closed lipped up at him. “You run far?” The beach was long, and Sylvia had woken up passed out on the beach multiple times before to see people running along it.

xxx

“Too fuckin’ far,” he lets out a breathy laugh that lasts only a few seconds before it fades and he shakes his hand, running a hand over his head before letting it drop again. “I do this to myself every day. I tell myself it’s gonna feel awesome then I run longer than I probably should, I feel like death and it doesn’t feel awesome - but it’s still worth it every time.” He smirks.

“See, it’s about,” a pause, hand gestures. “Proving to yourself that you’re capable of much more than your mind tells you. The mind draws a limit - but it doesn’t really exist, y’know? You can erase that fuckin’ line and draw it wherever the fuck ya want.” He shrugs, head dropping with a chuckle before he lifts it once more and extends a tattooed hand. “Silas.”

[heartstrlngs]

freddiefm​:

Her confidence was staggering. And he was surprised by how much he felt proud of her for it. He shouldn’t get to feel proud - he was the one who made her so far unconfident in the first place. But seeing her come out of that was something to congratulate. He didn’t though. He didn’t want her thinking he was teasing her or making fun of her again.

‘You didn’t deserve me’

The truth of it hits him with pain flaring through his chest. It’s like his heart skipped several beats and sank and retreated behind his spine all at once. And despite all those best efforts to hide itself, her arrow still struck true.

“I know.” He croaked, clearing his throat after. “I was awful. And I still am awful. I didn’t used to care what I am, what others thought or how it affected people.” He was speaking too honestly; he was revealing too much. There were so many secrets he had told her that she could twist and use against him or torture him with. She knew so much about him that - come the end of their relationship, and now, to an extent - he feared her. The trust he had placed in her, unwillingly scared him. He had done his best to hold her at arms length and he still would tell her everything. Lay his life in her hands.

“I don’t want to hurt you anymore.” He told her, his voice matching hers in volume. The moment was more intimate than the setting - the crowd they were in - allowed. Her hand against his made him swallow thickly. He remembered when she would hold him just for the Hel of it - just because he was there. Now even their handshake earlier had been carefully measured. And this gesture was too. “I want to be better.”

xxx

Mackenzie remembers exactly what being with him felt like. What being his felt like. She remembers sitting on her bathroom floor with her back against the closed door, a red face with tears and mascara down her cheeks. She remembers screaming, remembers punching the mirror because there were times she couldn’t stand looking at herself. Remembers trying to drown the gaping wound in her chest with all sorts of substances when he would leave her only to take him back in pathetic despair. She had no idea who to be without him; she was his to be shaped and bent however he needed her - she was his, but he wasn’t hers.

That’s not all she remembers, though. And it’s not what she holds onto now. She also remembers the quiet moments between them, remembers them laying in bed, a mess of limbs between the sheets. Remembers his kiss, his touch, his voice quiet in her ear, his breath against her neck, the laughs he’d get out of her, the smiles he’d flash her. It wasn’t all bad, he hadn’t been all bad.

“And you will be... I believe that.” Mackenzie responds, a small smile on her lips and the look in her eyes is a mixture of emotions; sadness, affection, hurt, support - all blending together like poor watercolors. “You’re not a bad man,” she says quietly, ignoring the scene around them like nothing else exists outside their bubble. Her hand slips from his and she rests it on his chest instead. “You’ve done ugly things but you don’t have an ugly heart. I know it.”

[heartstrlngs]

brooklynarievans​:

Brooke had been trying to deal with everything that was happening around her. She was confused and not having to go back to school for a few weeks was proving to be a nuisance. She had too much time on her hand to think. Think about her ex, about her current relationships and wonder what the hell was wrong with her. She was so deep in thought sitting on the beach she didn’t see someone next to her. She smiled with a small nod. “Sure.” She said looking at him. “I have an extra water if you want it.”

xxx

He raises an eyebrow, the corners of his lips curving into a crooked smirk. “Ay, I’ll have to say yes to that, my throat’s on fire.” Silas shrugs, holding out a hand as if waiting for her to give him the water she had offered. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

[heartstrlngs]

He’s found that ever since moving to Silver Creek, the beach has become one of his favorite locations. It’s proven to be the perfect place for a jog, in fact - and that’s what he’s doing now; airpods in his ears, bare feet meeting sand and water with every quick step. Thirty minutes go by, an hour, two hours until he’s out of breath and stops too suddenly, hands holding onto his knees as Silas catches his breath before he cups his hand and reaches down into the water, splashing it onto his face before he moves away from the water. “Mind if I sit here for a bit? Gotta catch my breath.” He asks the person closest to him, not really waiting for a response before he sits beside them on the sand, arms resting on his knees.

[heartstrlngs]

freddiefm​:

“Survive me?” He didn’t comment on the manipulation or the habit he had indeed made of it. If he did, he would lose all he was working for here. All he had been working for - even when he was told she was with someone else. He didn’t think he’d ever not be drawn to her. He’d been caught in her orbit and everything he’d done - every unhealthy thing before Jason and he ceased their engagement - had been done to keep her.

“Was I so bad?” He asked her, feeling hurt, though he had no right to. He knew what he had done. He knew how he must have hurt and twisted her with his lies and deceit and cheating. Questions were Defense mechanisms - a hope that she would give in and tell him that ‘no, it’s not your fault I feel shit’, and that they’d be together again.

Somehow, he knew that wouldn’t be the case this time.

“I’m not playing.” He told her honestly. “My honesty - my truth - is that I am caught, being pulled under by your wave time and time again, and everytime I come up for air, it’s more painful than slowly suffocating had been.” They weren’t good together - not when Freddie was… who he was. But he could be better. He could get help or something. “I’m starting to speak to someone.” He said, though he hadn’t started just yet. He’d only just decided to, after all. It wasn’t really a lie if he intended to make it the truth, was it? “About everything going on with me. My… issues, or whatever.” He looked embarrassed to even admit he had issues. He felt ashamed at being embarrassed. He wasn’t ever like this - not around anyone else. His hand reached up to rub his neck nervously. “I’m getting help.”

xxx

Since they ran into each other again, Mackenzie had tried so hard not to talk about the past, not to rub any of it in his face, not to hold it against him. But here she is and here they are, ripping the bandage off a wound that still felt fresh no matter how many months had passed. She wonders, however, if this time around he’s the one who keeps pouring salt in her proverbial wounds or if she’s doing it to herself.

What did she think would happen by allowing him back into her life? She should’ve known better and, honestly, maybe she did. Maybe she did know it would burn and allowed it anyway - that had been the problem with them from the start. He’d hurt her and she’d stay because maybe she liked the way it hurt a little too much, maybe nothing was worse than being without him. But she had done it, he’d sent her away and she had stayed away. It doesn’t feel like it’s working now, though.

“Yes. Yes, you were.” Her voice breaks and she looks away, arms crossed over her chest and nails caressing her own skin before fingers still once more and she looks back at him. “I would’ve done anything for you. I would’ve done the best and the worst things for you and you didn’t deserve that. You didn’t deserve me.” The thought of him getting help, however, is surprising if she can believe it to be true.

Still, Mackenzie’s confused, shaking her head slightly as she tries to digest his words and make sense of them - make sense of what he means by them. “That’s good,” she whispers a little too quietly, hand lingering in the air for a moment as she hesitates before resting her hand on the back of his own, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you’re getting help. Really.”

[heartstrlngs]

dreamyfms​:

closed  starter  for  : @heartstrlngs​​

WHILE  ANAIS  HADN’T  exactly  wanted  to  attend  the  Spring  Bash,  she  was  enjoying  seeing  everyone’s  smiling  faces  and  watching  them  interact  with  each  other.  “  You  want  a  stuffed  animal  ?  ”  She  asked,  directing  her  question  up  towards  Ryker,  gesturing  for  him  to  follow  her  as  she  lead  towards  one  of  the  many  booths  that  were  advertising  knocking  a  couple  of  pins  or  bottles  over  to  get  a  prize.  “  I  was  the  best  aim  on  my  high  school  softball  team.  ”  Never  mind  that  that  had  been  ages  ago.

xxx

“Hm?” He hadn’t quite been paying attention when she spoke, looking around at everything the event had to offer and all the people having fun but, soon enough, his brain processes Anais’ words and he chuckles, shaking his head. “I don’t know about the stuffed animal,” Ryker starts, following her in the general direction of the booths, analyzing each of them though, truly, he didn’t care much about the prize itself. “But some friendly competition’s just my thing.”

[heartstrlngs]

freddiefm​:

Freddie’s gaze is demanding, expectant. He hates the way she can affect him like this. Usually so calm and collected, he was angry - truly truly angry. It had scared him before - how easily she brought out this beast that he worked to control. And it scared him now too.

“What the fuck would make you think you had to do that?” He asked her, incredulous. “We could be-… speaking. Properly. Without-.” Without jealousy and greenness infecting their tone. His tone at least. Gods she knew exactly how to push his buttons still.

He took a breath, looked out over her head, eyes clearly working to calculate what he’d been told and how he was going to address it - preferably without himself looking like an idiot.

“I didn’t lie.” He stated simply after a moment, a small amount of ironic amusement in his words. “Funny how the roles change.” He snorted, shook his head. Finally, he looked at her again. “I think about you still.” He told her. “More than I should. More than I’m comfortable with.” It was a big thing for him to admit, and he could feel his palms clamming up with the nerves he felt about all this. “I came to you asking for friendship because I need some form of you in my life, because having nothing at all is the worst thing I’ve been through.” He had felt rough, alone, dead, empty. He’d hated it - with everything he had.

xxx

He speaks again and Mackenzie blinks a couple times a little too quickly, his tone making her frown and lift her chin slightly in defiance - like she’s preparing to block the attacks that used to come from him and, yet, this time they never do. Sure, he’s against her actions but she’s not made to seem crazy this time, and that’s a start.

Inhaling sharply, she takes a step forward, shaking her head. “The roles haven’t changed. I may have lied but it’s only because you hurt me and I didn’t want to give you the power to do it again. I didn’t lie so I could manipulate you or use you in any way - like you used to.” Mackenzie clenches her jaw to stop herself from saying anything else she might regret.

But then his words start to sink in and big brown eyes look at him like he’s spoken in a supernatural language. She doesn’t even notice that her jaw drops, doesn’t realize he made her speechless until a moment too long has passed. “Freddie-” Mackenzie swallows, shakes her head and clears her throat, ignoring the tight feeling in her chest. “Please don’t say that if you don’t mean it. I’m begging you not to play with my feelings again. I don’t... I don’t think I can survive you a second time.”

[heartstrlngs]

freddiefm​:

He knew he had caused her refusal to look at him, and the pensive look she now wore by being reckless with his words. They were barely friends, and he was already talking about something they used to hold as sacred together. Of course she wasn’t okay with it - just as much as he wasn’t okay with her speaking about … about whoever the idiot was who let her come alone tonight. Nonetheless, his initial reaction was confusion… possibly anger also… definitely anger. Was it so unfounded?

“You’re annoyed that I’m speaking about taking someone home?” He questioned, wanting to have it straight. Because that alone surely shouldn’t be enough to get mad at. Surely!? “It’s what the majority of people at this event will be doing - as if you’ll not greet your new lover through the door with whatever new kinks you’ve discovered since being free of me.” He pointed out bitterly. “What’s different about it being me taking someone home?”

His words feel like the crack of a whip and Mackenzie instantly regrets saying anything at all, lips pressing together in a line. But how long was she supposed to carry on with this act? How long should she be pretending not to care? Not to hurt? Not to feel so goddamn angry? He makes it seem so easy but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

She opens her mouth as if to speak, the smallest of sounds leaving her lips before they fall shut once more and she clenches her jaw, doe eyes looking into his equally dark ones, refusing to look away this time no matter how much she wants to. “I lied.” Mackenzie finally confesses, tongue poking out to briefly wet her lips before she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “There is no new lover. I didn’t want you to think I was still thinking about you so I made it up.”

[heartstrlngs]

kwondaex​:

“Does this look like something a fourteen year old girl would enjoy?” Dae looked at the stuffed bear he was considering. “What do they even like? Or should I just go with money instead of a gift and be done with it.”  

xxx

He deadpans for a moment too long after the question is asked, almost as if he’s not entirely sure it was directed at him. Scratching the back of his neck, Silas chuckles huskily and briefly. “I don’t know what fourteen year olds like, man.” He responds honestly. “Everyone likes money though, yeah?”

[heartstrlngs]

dreamyfms​:

closed  starter  for  :  @heartstrlngs​

THEIR  EYES  WERE  squinted  despite  the  sunglasses  on  their  face,  the  world  around  them  moving  just  slow  enough  that  it  had  Kimmy  reacting  a  bit  slowly  to  the  many  many  bodies  around  them.  “  I  think  that  I’ve  officially  hit  the  point  where  I  would  plaster  my  pussy  on  the  sidewalk  for  a  corn  dog, ”  they  drawled,  quoting  the  last  Tik  Tok  that  she’d  seen  while  getting  ready  for  the  bash.  “  Or  a  piece  of  pizza  —-  Kenzie.  We  need  to  find  the  pizza.  ”  Kimmy  would  eat  anything  at  that  point,  the  munchies  hitting  them  hard.

xxx

Mackenzie’s got a drink in hand - one she can’t quite remember getting in the first place and she has to stop herself from spitting it out the moment Kimmy’s words reach her ears, cheeks puffing out to hold in the liquid until, finally, she manages to swallow and lets out a laugh. “You seriously want pizza right now? Of all things?” She asks her best friend, though it’s quite rhetoric before she’s locking arms with them. “Alright, you win. Let’s go find some pizza! You ready?”

[heartstrlngs]

freddiefm​:

Freddie chuckled, finding her fright adorable. He used to do that before - used to poke at her side after sneaking up on her and watch her spin and Yelp and slap him in frustration as she giggled. He remembered that. He loved that.

“Oh, that’s shit, isn’t it?” He hummed, not sounding in the least bit regretful for it. He sighed, looking from the view to Mac. His head shook slight. “No - not here with anyone.” He told her. “Thought i might end up going home with someone, though.” He added needlessly. He wanted to go home with her.

xxx

She genuinely tries not to and, yet, miserably fails as she rolls her eyes at Freddie’s words. Why on earth did he feel the need to tell her that? Why rub it in her face that he’s been doing such a good job at moving on that he has absolutely no issues going home with someone at the same event she’s attending.

“Good for you.” Mackenzie mumbles, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her body away from him to face ahead, dark eyes gazing over several faces yet sticking to none. There’s a frown on her eyebrows, a less-than-soft look in her eyes and she knows she should be quiet, but how long does he truly expects her to be quiet? “I’m sorry, do you think it’s cute to brag about whoever the fuck it is you’re taking home?” She faces him again, annoyance all over her features as she looks at him. “Because it’s not. Actually, it’s quite sad.”

[heartstrlngs]

freddiefm​:

Freddie && Mac ( @heartstrlngs )

“And how are we this evening?” He asked after walking up behind his ex to stand next to her. He had come to terms with being self destructive a long long time ago. “Where did your date go?” He assumed she would be here with one - with the man she had been on dates with. The one she wasn’t serious with. The one that made him feel snappy and mean everytime he thought about them both together. 

xxx

She can't help but jump ever so slightly at the sudden sound of Freddie's voice, turning to face him wide-eyed. "You scared me!" Mackenzie frowns, crossing her arms over her chest but, as much as she acts bothered, there is that stupid fluttering in her stomach again. "Oh, he, uh..." clears her throat. "He couldn't make it, unfortunately. Work came up." A shrug, gaze wandering around briefly before finding him again. "You here with someone?"

[heartstrlngs]

freddiefm​:

He had been reluctant to ask, and now, being told that she was in fact seeing someone, made his chest pang and clench, like the spade sat upon his chest was drilling it’s way through to his heart. He breathed deeply, blew it out as subtly as he could, and nodded.

“Right… well, congratulations.” He forced out, a smile on his face unlike any of the others she had seen on him. This was the expression he wore when dealing with a particularly annoying and frustrating characters at work. His eyes were trained undeniably on the menu, though he had stopped reading it a while ago. His jaw ticked, thoughts in his head of forgein hands touching her - thinking they had some claim on her. 

“Anyone I’d know?” He asked her, tone light though the rest of his measured reaction was doing nothing to show his true, incredibly mixed and confusing, response to her news.

xxx

The shift in the mood between them is tangible and, in Mackenzie’s mind, maybe he knows she’s lying and that’s why things feel weird now. Maybe he knows her well enough and she’s making a fool of herself. “What? Oh, no... No, I don’t think so. They’re- He’s new to town, somewhat.” She shrugs a shoulder, biting at the inside of her cheek and looking ahead again because if she keeps looking at him, she just might blurt out that it’s a lie.

"Looks like it’s us.” She comments as the line moves again and it’s their turn. A smile returns to Mackenzie’s face and she places her hands on the counter, standing on her tiptoes and greeting the barista before gaze wanders to the menu behind them. “I want a...” Hums, thinking for a moment before making her decision, though she leans forward to try and keep Freddie from listening so it can be a surprise when he tries it. “Caramel and white chocolate mocha, please.” Glancing over and up at Freddie. “Okay, you turn.” She chuckles, covering her ears for the dramatics.

[heartstrlngs]

The path to Kaden’s house is all too familiar. So much so that Victoria’s not even really paying that much attention where she’s going - phone in hand, catching up on everything she’s missed throughout the day on her social media feed and texts. By the time she arrives at Kaden’s front door, it takes her a moment too long to even acknowledge it, pocketing her phone to knock on the door.  “Let me in, I come bearing gifts!”

closed starter  /  @lxcidwaters​

[heartstrlngs]

She’s late and heavens know how much Henley hates tardiness. She hates it in others and hates it when she’s guilty of it too. In her mind, everyone’s got phones with clocks and alarms so there’s no reason to be late to a previously scheduled appointment. Shit happens, though, and it’s what happens to her when she forgets her camera at her client’s place and has to go back to grab it. It’s not that she doesn’t trust the people she works for, but you never know and her equipment isn’t exactly cheap.

“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Henley announces before she’s even close to the table Braeden’s at, setting her purse on an empty chair beside her before taking a seat across from him, reaching forward to place a hand on top of his with a gentle squeeze in greeting before pulling her hand back again. “You know I hate being late, I’m sorry,” She says again. “But I can see you haven’t given up on me, so I’m glad.” A chuckle.

closed starter  /  @braedenmerrick​