Trigger Warning: Mentions of death and sexual assault
💞BASICS
Full name: Holly Dawn Benson
Nicknames: Hols, Holly Tree (by her parents)
Age: Seventeen
Date of birth: September 8th
Zodiac sign: Virgo
Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Hometown: Evanston, Illinois, USA
Location: London, England, UK
Gender and pronouns: Cisfemale, she/her/hers
Sexual/romantic orientation: "Straight” (Pansexual)
Ethnicity: Caucasian (German and Italian)
Religious views: Agnostic
Education level: Secondary school
Mental conditions: Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Sleep Paralysis
Physical impairments: Far-sighted, wears contacts and glasses
Addictions: Small alcohol and smoking (mainly weed) addiction
💞PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Face Claim: Danielle Campbell
Eye color: Bright Green
Hair color: Milk Chocolate Brown
Hair style: Long length, long layers, reaches the ends of her shoulder blades, naturally wavy. Typically has it in soft loose curls.
Facial hair: None
Birthmarks: Some light freckles scattered around her body
Height: 5′3″
Weight: 120 lbs
Fitness level: 10/10, Works out constantly due to ballet, cheerleading, and volleyball.
Clothing style: Feminine and cute. Mainly pastels, but will occasionally wear a few darker things. Her style is most like that of Karolina Dean, Waverly Earp, mostly season 1!Hanna Marin minus a few exceptions, Lara Jean Song Covey, and anything that gives her Disney’s Tangled Rapunzel vibes. Whenever she’s doing extensive artwork, she’ll typically dress down in old jeans and t-shirts.
Piercings: Typical ear piercings and a belly button piercing
Tattoos: None, but she does have a few ideas
Scars: A few minor ones from playing over the years. There is a medium-sized scar on her right elbow that she got when she was nine accidentally.
Distinguishing features: Her bright eyes and nose.
💞PAST
Best memory: Her parents and Kai celebrating her sixteenth birthday and it being just the four of them. That was probably the most they ever felt like a true family.
Worst memory: What happened with Ace and then every event involving Kai’s death (identifying his body, getting his funeral ready, et cetera).
Biggest secret: That she was sexually assaulted by Ace (and that he was technically her first time) and that her brother was murdered.
Biggest wish: To be okay and not broken again.
Biggest fear: To remain broken forever.
First kiss: An older boy named Tobias Marks when she was thirteen.
First love: No one.
First time: Ace Mercier at the Mercier Residence; She wishes that he wasn’t her first.
Childhood best friend: Mia Fitzgerald
Childhood personality: Obnoxious, loud, curious, worrier
💞MISCELLANEOUS
Speaking Voice Claim: Danielle Campbell { here and here }
Singing Voice Claim: Perrie Edwards { here and here }
Bad habits: She has a tendency to pick at the skin around her nails whenever she’s worried or in deep concentration.
Positive traits: Loyal, caring, sweet, fun-loving
Negative traits: Bratty, annoying, bitchy, easily angered
Emotional stability: She’s working on being a lot more calm, but it’s a work in progress.
Sociability: Extrovert
Relationship with father: Holly is his little princess, no doubt at all. While she had purposefully distanced herself from him in defiance when he sent Kai to military school, they have become closer again.
Father’s Name: Hansel Benson
Relationship with mother: It has been said multiple times that Holly is her mother’s mini me. They’ve seen eye to eye for as long as she could remember and she would consider her mother to be her best friend.
Mother’s Name: Catarina Benson
Siblings: Kai Benson (Brother)
Pets: Cleo, a long-haired orange Tabby cat; Cerberus, a Doberman-Lab mix; Valentina, a pitbull; Phoebus, a beige Arabian gelding; Selene, an American Paint mare; and Hemera, an Arabian-American Paint mix foal.
Role models: Her parents, Audrey Hepburn, Misty Copeland, Rapunzel from Disney’s Tangled
💞 FAVOURITES
Favorite places: Her grandparents’ vineyard near Venice
Favorite animals: Cats, dogs, and horses
Favorite books: To All The Boys I Loved books by Jenny Han, The Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts, Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Anna and the French Kiss trilogy by Stephanie Perkins and a lot of YA and romance novels
Favorite movies: Disney and a lot of romantic comedy/drama
Favorite music: Pop, Folk, Indie, Disney soundtracks
Favorite food: Homemade baklava
Views on romance: Splendid, full of bliss and compassion. Surprising and sometimes annoying, but can be worth it. Layered and adventurous, full of mystery and hope and compromise. Chances that are truly worth it. Willing to do whatever it takes to be together and to be implicitly happy together. One of the most beautiful things in life.
“It had nothing to do with you. I just got angry at you because you were easy to focus my anger on. I know that’s wrong and shitty of me, but I was drunk and I won’t try to justify my actions. I know what I did was wrong, but I never meant to hurt you. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Sage didn’t understand why Holly took it so personal when it wasn’t even about her, technically. “I don’t expect forgiveness or anything like that. I just felt that I needed to apologise so that we can all move on from the situation.” She had to swallow her ego and admit that she’d been wrong. “Yeah, of course. Take all the time you need.”
Nodding gently, she took a deep breath as she listened to her. “I know. I just... I had a really tough year last year at my old school. A lot happened which brought on an abundance of nasty rumors about me. You accusing me brought me back to that and caused me to be incredibly defensive. That’s why I took it so personally and that’s something else I’m trying to work on. Heh, being at the wrong place at the wrong time is accidentally my specialty; It’s a curse.” Mindlessly playing with her headphones, Holly smiled softly at Sage. “Whatever is going on between you and Raf is your business and your business alone, not mine. I respect that and I’m not trying to butt in or ask questions or anything. Trust me, I know how it feels to have someone or even multiple people trying to get all up in your business. It really sucks and if I had in any way made it seem like I was, then I’m sorry as well. I just hope that things between you two will get better soon.”
A shrug rolled off the blonde’s shoulders as her attention now split between the girl and her work. “That’s okay, I never got your name the first time we met so I think we’re even” she smiled. A few more clicks of her keyboard and she was done. Paper sent. She closed the laptop and returned it to her bag. “So, you planning on taking another nap or do you feel like grabbing a coffee with me?”
“Fair enough,” she laughed slightly, stretching out and feeling more awake. Looking at her work spread out on the coffee table then back at the blonde, the brunette smiled and began to pack up her stuff. “I could go for a coffee, yeah. If I take another nap now, I most definitely won’t get any sleep tonight.” Not that that was a bad thing. She tries not to take very long rests, knowing that she’d deal with nightmares and that was something that she tried her best to avoid.
God, she was amazing. Not just to his eyes, but the warmth she put out into the room, there was something so pure and fun about her presence. He was addicted, more so than any kind of drug could ever influence him. Looking into her colorful hues, he was mesmerized, taking a bite of his apple before putting it down, to seem as if he wasn’t merely studying her, which was probably obvious anyways. “That’s awesome, I’ve always wanted to move across the big pond… When my brother died, we all were looking for an excuse at a fresh start.” He never talked about Todd, but she made it easy to open up.
As he took a sip of water, his arm was grabbed, causing him to nearly choke as he sat down his water, chuckling, he looked back at the ecstatic brunette. “You’re being serious? You’re not messing with me, right?” He asked, perking a brow with a wide grin. “I’d love to! My family needs a reason to get out of the house.” His smile died a little when she mentioned him being her best friend, but after all, he had told her to call him such. “So you talked to your parents about me?”
She’d been about to take a sip of her water, her glass just barely touching her lips, when he mentioned his brother. She quickly pulled her glass away from her as she put her entire attention on Liam, setting her water on the table. “Your... Your brother?” Did they truly have more in common than she thought? Holly couldn’t really recall him mentioning a brother. Then again, she hasn’t told him about Kai yet, either. “I’m so sorry, Li. Am... Am I allowed to ask what he was like?” There was also a part of her that wondered how he passed, but that was even more touchy than her spoken inquiry.
Nodding quickly, the brunette grinned brightly. Images of them being in Italy together flew through her mind and she grew even more excited. “I’m serious, we should totally do it! We could even visit my grandparents’ vineyard, explore the country together. Maybe even check out Sicily for a few days as well. It could be an adventure!” Giggling, her shoulders rose in a cutesy shrug as she sang, “Mayyyybeeeee. Why, have you not talked to your parents about me? Did I totally jumped the gun?” Despite her giddy and playful attitude, Holly was freaking out on the inside. Has he not talked about her to his parents? Do they not know that she exist? Does he think that she’s some creep now? Her head was racing and her stomach turned into knots, remaining calm on the outside. She didn’t know why she was so worried or why the idea of him not mentioning her even once to them hurt her heart.
callie instantly frowned at her activities, arching an eyebrow at the girl. “why are you doing so much?”
Raising her shoulders in a slight shrug, she propped herself up on her elbows to look at Callie. “I guess I wanted to keep a small part of my schedule from back home here,” she remarked. “Ballet, cheerleading, volleyball, art: They’re some of my most favourite things in the world and they help keep me busy. Plus, whenever life gets too crazy, I can go be by myself and practice to help clear my head. I love it. Yeah, I wished that they didn’t leave me so tired at the end of the day... but I couldn’t imagine not having those precious things in my life. No matter how much I gripe and whine occasionally. I’m not sure how to explain it; I’m not too good with words.”
“Pepperoni, cheese and meat lovers.“ Ryan said passing her one of the boxes to look through.
Listening to him list off the selection and checking them out, a bummed look graced Holly’s features. Shoot. ‘I can’t have any of these; I’m vegan. Sorry, but thanks for offering anyway. I hope that you’ll enjoy them, though. They look and smell great.’
“Nuttin’” He shook the thoughts away. “Oh same thing happens to me when I read.” He admitted. “Did you sleep well at least?” He asked, taking a seat beside her. “You know what the problem is. You pick places that are too cozy.” He mentioned as he felt up the couch.
As she thought about it, yeah. It was a rather peaceful sleep, which was rare for her. “I did, yes. It was... really nice, actually.” Scooting over a little to give him space, Holly leaned back into the sofa before smiling softly. “You got me there. Honestly, I could probably be sitting at one of the tables in the library reading this thing and would end up falling asleep still. Maybe I should check if there’s an audio version, listen to it while working out and such.”
liam would be lying if he said he didn’t feel different when he was around her. even before he heard her voice, just being around her smile was contagious for him, she brought out the best in him. holly benson was a name he couldn’t get off his tongue, and he found himself saying it to himself when he was alone, grinning uncontrollably. he knew he had to do something about it after his mom encouraged him to invite her over for dinner, which he objected to… but still, he would invite her out himself.
walking around the home that felt so foreign, yet cozy to liam, he made his way over to his kitchen, grabbing a cup of water for himself. ‘ well, when your parents don’t trust you on your own and don’t want to let you out of their sight, and can afford to move anywhere, it’s kind of hard to avoid them moving with me. ‘ he sighed, grabbing an apple from his fruit bowl in the kitchen before stopping at her request. ‘ lemon fanta is a thing? ‘ he’d never heard of it, so he just poured her another glass of water, meeting her in the living room, where they had a large couch and coffee table. he had the apple secured between his teeth as he carried the two glasses of water, handing her one, while he threw his feet up on the coffee table, taking a bite of his apple as he sat down. ‘ make yourself at home. ‘
“Mm, got it,” she giggled, shaking her head gently. “My parents wanted to come here as well, but there were some... other obligations that kept them back home.” Mainly, making sure that Ace would never come near Holly ever again and to make sure that Justin was to stay in prison until the day he died. Plus, Kai’s grave was back home. It would be hard to for them to part from him completely. Even Holly had some difficulties not being able to visit him every Thursday after school like she use to. “However, my aunt and her fiancee live in a town nearby, so that has helped my parents rest a little easier.”
Sitting down on the couch, the brunette tucked her legs under herself before cuddling into the plush. She wasn’t sure why she felt so safe and comfortable in such an unfamiliar place. However, her answer soon came to her in the form of the tall brunet who loved his camera, a smile growing on her face once she saw him again and took her glass. “Yeah! Wait, you never heard of it before? It’s seriously the best thing ever. I had it during a family reunion in Venice years ago and I swear, no other soft drink will ever compare.” A thought occurred to her and she sat up excitedly, her free hand clasping onto his arm. “We should go to Italy and Greece for winter break! Maybe we can talk to our parents and all of us could go together, get to know each other more. My parents have been wanting to meet you. They’re excited to be introduced to my best friend. What do you say?”
‘ hey hey, i say when you get to put a label on it… fine, you’re my best friend! ‘ he grinned. she actually made being sober somewhat bearable whenever she was around. being that he didn’t want to say the wrong kind of thing to her. and as she squeezed his hand, he couldn’t help the little backflip his stomach did when the gentle notion was received.
a few minutes later, and they were at the newcastle home, where he knew his mother would be out shopping and his father away on a business trip. ‘ welcome to the newcastle residence, benson. we’re still unpacking, so sorry for the boxes, but uh- do- do you want a drink or something? i wait all year long just for the eggnog season, and we got some imported from the states that i’ve had since i was a kid. ‘
He made being at Foxcroft easier, better. Hell, he just made being alive still easier. If she were back home still, she would probably be thinking about Kai and Ace and Justin all the time and be even more of a broken mess than she already was. But when she was with Liam, she didn’t think about any of those things. She lived in the moment. She was her true self with him and didn’t need to pretend. She felt so free when she was with him and that was when she truly knew, Liam Newcastle was going to be an important part of her life.
As she walked around, Holly couldn’t help but to admire the place. Her father, who was an architect, would love it. She was certain. “Hey, I don’t mind. It’s cool that your family moved to London as well.” Her nose crinkled a little as she glanced back at her friend, a grin gracing her features. “I don’t drink eggnog... Is this where I lose my best friend status? But I’m good with water. Or lemon Fanta, if you have any.” God, she remembered when she tried lemon Fanta for the first time during a family reunion in Venice with her mom’s side. She became hooked on the drink.
“No offense, but I really don’t know you yet, so I really can’t tell what kind of girl you are. Don’t take it personal, though. It had nothing to do with you as a person.”
“No, that is exactly my point. You don’t know me yet, but that didn’t stop you from accusing me of blowing his dick and trying to fuck him even though I told you more times than I needed to that I wasn’t interested in having sex with him. It’s kind of hard not to take it personal.” Shaking her head, she glanced at the headphones in her hands before back at Sage. “Look, I do appreciate your apology. I truly do. But that’s not going to just change my feelings all of the sudden. Forgiveness hasn’t exactly been the most easy thing for me for awhile now. Let’s just... Let things calm down and slow down. I still want to get to know you more and I would like to become your friend eventually. But I need to get over being angry and upset over our little incident, because it wouldn’t be fair to you if I were to lie and say that I accept your apology when I’m still upset and allow that anger to fester while pretending that I’m okay with all of this.”