WINGS IN FLIGHT

JORDAN WIGGINS. 33 yrs. Owner of Everything Goes Bookstore & Cafe. Wiggins family disappointment Hotter than a fantasy, she's lonely like the highway. She's living in a world and it's on fire. Feeling the catastrophe, but she knows she can't fly away.

[jordcnwiggins]

Full Name: Jordan Aaliyah Wiggins 

Nicknames: J, Jordy

Age & Birthday: 33 years; Aprill 15th, 1989

Occupation: Owner of Everything Goes Bookstore & Cafe 

Preferred Pronouns & Gender: she/her; cis-female

Sexuality: Bisexual

Hometown & length of time in Salt Flats: Salt Flats, TX & all of her life

Neighborhood: Downtown

Family: Ira Wiggins (adoptive father unbeknownst to Jordan), Josephine Wiggins (adoptive mother unbeknownst to Jordan), James 'Jay' Wiggins (brother), younger sibling

PINTEREST | CONNECTIONS | PLAYLIST

As a child of Ira and Josephine Wiggins, there have always been expectations heaped on Jordan’s shoulders. Expectations from her parents to maintain and carry the family name in Salt Flats and beyond,  expectations from anyone who knew who she was that she would be ‘just like the rest of them.’ With the Wiggins’ family history in the town she grew up constantly weighing over her head, Jordan always struggled with feeling like she could ever truly be herself. The middle child, Jordan wasn't quite as important as her older sibling was to the family legacy, but as the Wiggins family name was literally synonymous with Salt Flats, there was still pressure. 

Jordan has always wanted, always tried, to move to the beat of her own drum, but throughout her 33 years, her parents have constantly undermined all attempts to do so. She wanted to study social work in college, to help people. Instead she was told she would be studying engineering at Wiggins College because it was too good publicity for the Wiggins’ family to pass up with their initiative at the school 

Despite not actually wanting to study engineering, she did well in college, figuring she could get through her undergraduate and then her parents would be satisfied, but they found more ways to keep her under their thumb. Over the years, she tried to make the best of her situation, tried to be passionate or even just excited about the ‘assignments’ she was given by her family, but no matter what, they always seemed to crush her spirit. 

About six years ago, their meddling finally resulted in something she could lose herself in. Her father had bought an old cafe that was on the verge of closing, he gave Jordan an ultimatum, either she whip the place into shape or he’d demolish the property and develop it into a car sales lot instead. 

It took Jordan a little while, but suddenly an idea came to her. She closed the cafe, remodeled the space, rebranded, and reopened with a new mission. Everything in this cafe would be locally sourced; from the ingredients they cooked with, to the coffee they sold, to the furniture they used in the store, even the hires they made, priority would be given to Wiggins College students and graduates. The only part of the cafe that wasn’t entirely local, was the bookstore. With her love of books, Jordan knew how important it was to broaden one’s horizons through reading, so she added an eclectic bookstore to the cafe, offering an incredibly diverse selection of fiction and non-fiction alike to the small town

It took a little while, but with an addition of hosting community events at the cafe such as open mic nights, trivia nights, etc, the townspeople shed their wariness that this was just another money making scheme of the Wiggins family and really banded behind Jordan. The small cafe became a thriving part of the town 

When her father’s scandal came to light a year ago, Jordan was disappointed but not surprised. She’d never had unrealistic expectations about her father, never looked at him with the rose colored glasses that some people in town did. What she didn’t quite expect though, was the devastation her father’s transgressions would eventually wreak on all of the Wiggins’ businesses. Soon enough, the Wangs were stepping in, and while Jordan was relieved that the biggest change for Everything Goes would be partnership with her long term childhood friend, Carter, the Wang’s take over still stung. It felt like everything she had worked so hard for, the independence from her family, the ability to make a name for herself, was all being stripped away.

[jordcnwiggins]

Task 01. Character Arc & Development

What does your character want (their goal or challenge)?

To finally prove to the world (aka herself) that she has value outside of being a Wiggins. She wants to prove that not only can she be a successful business owner on her own merit, but that she is a valuable addition to this town for reasons other than her last name.

What are their external needs/desires?

She needs to find a way to buy out The Wang's from Everything Goes. Jordan also probably needs to go to therapy to figure out how she can find her worth outside of what value she brings to the friendships and relationships in her life.

What or who stands in their way and could stop them?

There's always the risk that the Wang corporation could decide to buy her out before she is able to buy them out and this would mean losing the business. But she also stands in the way of herself not finding her value in what she brings to the table. By not letting herself be vulnerable, or leaning too heavily on those around her, they can never show her that they care about her even when she's not giving back to them.

What will they do about it?

As it is right now, she's going to eventually burn out. If she doesn't do anything to change, she is going to over extend herself with trying to do everything she can to get complete ownership of her cafe and giving too much to those around her in a desperate attempt to keep them around.

What happens if they fail? 

If she fails, she could potentially lose Everything Goes all together and she could face extreme burn out.

What sacrifices might they have to make?

Her need to be 'valuable,' her pride/sense of identity.

What motivates them inwardly and why?

Helping her friends, and Salt Flats, be the absolute best they can be. She believes in the people she cares about so deeply that she will do whatever she can to help them. Same goes for the town she's lived and grown up in.

What is their internal struggle?

Self worth, the belief that because she's a Wiggins, everyone around her expects something from her or is judging her for being a Wiggins.

What are their flaws? How do their flaws play into their internal struggle?

Refuses to show vulnerability, plays everything she struggles with off as 'not a big deal,' doesn't set good boundaries, will drop everything she's doing when a friend needs something. All of these are how she proves her self worth/value outside of her family name, but what happens when she's so burned out that she can't do any of these things anymore?

What fundamental changes do you want to see in your character?

I want to see her not only grow to stand on her own two feet, but to feel confident enough in herself that it doesn't bother her if people think of her as just another Wiggins, where she knows her worth outside of what she can do for people.

 What heroic qualities must emerge for them to succeed?

Self confidence/love, acceptance, inner peace

[boanerges20]

Motolove. Desert Fun.

[lukegamble-deactivated20230404]

when someone was such a constitutive part of your life, a part of your general makeup since you were in your developmental years — when they were no longer there in the same capacity that absence wasn't just felt. it was lived and breathed while knowing every bit of it was wrong. not that luke would necessarily have it any other way, as having people close to him seemed to be a dangerous thing and he really couldn't afford or take any more losses. still, the sight of jordan along with her bike did funny things to his insides. nostalgia and longing, sure. the one he always thought he'd be going through life side by side with? absolutely.

"maybe i have," he said with an easy smile, blue eyes moving over her. it was almost hard to accept that she was right there in front of him. maybe she was a mirage or apparition. he'd been seeing those lately. "worked though, didn't it? you're smiling." luke had always been a quiet person, a man of fewer words than most, but they came even less now. every syllable practically had to fight its way out. "she's ain't my boss," he joked but moved to wrap a tattooed arm around her smaller frame. "you still know how to ride that thing?" again, the teasing couldn't be helped.

[jordcnwiggins]

"Guess it did." she conceded, fighting the smile that clearly didn't plan on leaving her lips any time soon. Jordan rolled her eyes, but as he wrapped an arm around her and she breathed in his familiar scent, she didn't feel the need to argue the point any more. It felt good to be home. She let out a huff, taking a step back to glance over her shoulder at her bike, before turning around to offer him a smirk. "I can still ride circles around you." Luke had been the one who taught her how to ride, all those years ago. The person who had offered her a hobby, more like a passion, when it felt like she was being forced to conform to her parents' cookie cutter lifestyle that stifled every free spirited part of her. He had offered her a chance to be free, if she were truly being honest, and even if she never beat him in a race, she would still be forever grateful for what he had given her. "You brave enough to find out?" she asked, a challenging glint in her eyes as she looked up at him.

[liv-li-deactivated20230327]

It was the way Jordan's eyes lit up, almost gleefully, that made Liv use her glass to stifle her laugh. She grew to know Jordan very well over the past couple of years, but never saw a look quite like that on her neighbor's face. As Jordan explained more about the business dynamic and the changes and the worries, Liv nodded along sympathetically. "That sounds difficult -- feeling like an afterthought in your life's work. Hopefully, they'll back off as they continue investing to focus on ones that need more guidance," she said after a moment. Maybe that would be a silver lining? They both knew Jordan was more than capable to running the show that was Everything Goes -- it was just avoiding the run-off of her father's reputation for the timebeing.

Liv took a sip from her glass, eyebrows arching at the word "takeover." She daintily sat the wine glass back down and shrugged. "Hospital's changing management is kind of the norm -- I just decided to leave this time for my own reasons. From what I'm understanding, though, JA Wang Corp. wants to decrease wait times but keep the quality of work in the ER. Which is easy for business people to say but not so easily put in practice when there's a shortage of healthcare professionals to do the work to begin with."

[jordcnwiggins]

"Yeah, it's definitely not the best feeling in the world." she admitted, her shoulders slumping a bit as she thought about her role at Everything Goes and how it felt like she was having to fight almost to keep it from changing too much. "Here's hoping!" she agreed, crossing her fingers. She considered whether she should admit this or not yet, it was such a fledgling idea. But Jordan knew she needed the accountability of having actually told someone to make her see it through, so she pressed ahead. "I'm also hoping that I'll be able to save enough to eventually buy them out." Jordan didn't get nervous often, but admitting one of her newfound greatest wishes, which seem so impossibly far away, had her biting her bottom lip as she waited for Liv's reaction.

"Are you enjoying the transition though?" She reached forward to take a sip of her wine, hoping that Liv was. Jordan knew what a big deal the change had been for the woman. And she was glad Liv had made it. She let out a huff at the position the new management must be putting it's service providers in. "That sounds like a recipe for disaster. If you wanna decrease wait times, you have to make sure you have the staff to do it."

[mcrshmellows]

They had often mocked their father in private, a coping mechanism they had developed as young kids stuck in the shadow of Ira Wiggins. So it didn't come as surprise to him when she began the impersonation, chuckling along and adding in the odd comments that his father was famous for.

He sat back down as if nothing had just happened and began to eat his fries with the fork, then popped it in the mac and cheese. "Ever since you brought this here mac n' cheese that I'm going to have to run miles to work off later," he fired back with a teasing glare. He could tell she was suspicious but he hoped he had covered well enough by putting the attention back on her. He hated lying to her or sneaking around, but she would make a big deal out of it when it wasn't that big a problem. Just fun.

"I get what you mean, though, like the place isn't yours anymore..." he said changing the subject. Jay felt for her, she deserved to have a place of her own, and she was the beating heart of Everything Goes. "Can you not like speak to someone? See if there is a way to get the place back to sole ownership? Is there any way around it all?"

[jordcnwiggins]

As the pair of them laughed at their father's expense, Jordan couldn't help but appreciate the fact that it had been far too long since she'd gotten to hang out with her brother. Besides their mother, and her niece, Jay was her absolute favorite person. And she knew she needed to do a better job of checking in on him... even if it did more good for her mental stability than him.

She rolled her eyes as he stole some of her mac 'n cheese. But then proceeded to push her plate closer to him, for easier access. She never ended up finishing all of it anyways and Jay had long ago been her go to when she couldn't finish her food. "Exactly." she nodded emphatically as she took another bite of the delicious food. "I'm hoping to be able to save up as much as I can and one day buy out their shares, but I drained a lot of my savings just revamping the place to begin with. So that's not happening anytime soon." She shrugged, "It'll be ok, at least growing up with Dad gave me tons of practice dealing with pushy execs." She took a sip of her drink before turning her gaze back to her older brother. "What about you? How're you doing?" she asked, knowing full well that he'd try to brush her off, but she wasn't going to let him.

[coltonatwater]

It took her a few too many moments before realizing that the reason the room was moving wasn't because she'd been spinning around, but that the other's arms were holding onto her and rocking them both on the floor of her bathroom. She'd lost feeling in her toes, having sat on them for far too long as her stomach sunk as far as her body was willing to go and unable to look back up again. Instead her limbs hung loosely against her best friend, taking too much strength that she didn't have right then to react correctly until her mind clung to a thought that she wasn't alone. Not right then. She wasn't alone anymore as her tears fell freely now while they were buried in the shoulder of her friend, feeling the way her fingers twitched before they moved around the other and held on for dear life.

It was the fear of the unknown returning all over again, throwing her back into the diner on the outskirts of town that she hadn't been able to return to since the night she'd lost her baby. "I didn't.. I was so stupid, so fucking stupid," she repeated, the same thoughts that were hitting her all over again when she knew that the test wasn't wrong. She'd been careless, throwing caution to the wind because she'd gotten Kinley back for a few short weeks before everything fell apart before she had a chance to figure any of it out. Her heart was in tatters, unable to figure out which was up or if what she felt was right or just something to keep her moving through the motions of work and life. "I thought it was the job.. that it was harder than it looked but.." Her words kept getting stuck as she pulled back only enough so that she glance back at the sink before she reached out to pick up the discard pregnancy test box from the trash can next to the toilet. Logan couldn't even rise up enough to look back at the positive test in the sink, or the second one that she'd taken after the first one turned positive, as she handed the box over to Jordan. "It turns out I'm not exhausted or miserable, but pregnant." Again.

[jordcnwiggins]

There was no ignoring how long it took Logan to respond. For a minute there, Jordan was worried her friend hadn't even noticed she had wrapped her arms around her. But when Logan finally reacted, finally clung onto her, Jordan let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She continued to rock the two of them back and forth even as Logan began to speak, hoping the continued motion would help her relax a bit. But as Logan pulled away and reached up to grab something from the trash, Jordan's heart sank a little bit as she saw what it was. The full weight of what was happening hit her like a ton of bricks and her hand flew up to clutch at her neck. Jordan knew what Logan's last pregnancy had done to her, what losing the baby had done. So much of her best friend's life had been thrown upside down over and over again and here it was... happening a second time. Her eyes flew up to meet Logan's gaze, "I know it feels like your world is ending right now, but I promise you, I'm with you this time." she said confidently. Jordan reached forward again, pulling Logan's hands into hers and giving them a squeeze. "You're not going to do one step of this alone. We can cry and feel miserable and anything else you want right now, but I swear to you, we are going to get through this, Logan." The last eight words were punctuated by a pause in between them as if Jordan was determined to show Logan just how much she meant it. Because she did mean it. There wasn't a single part of her that thought for one second that the two of them couldn't deal with this together.

[blackfashion]

Black Girls Are The Purest Form Of Art 🌹✨ LegendaryRootz.com

Twitter | Instagram @LegendaryRootz

[willbeckvr-a1]

“It is.” Will didn’t hesitate confirming with a nod as she did just graciously save him from further humiliation in itself. Besides, the fact that he was aware of who Jordan was might have already started turning the whole situation around. Blinking, Will listened as she further explained, as all that she was saying right now clicked with the past familiarity they had with each other. They were practically neighbors in the same town area, and he had been aware that when she was around the hotel, it made sense as to why she’d always decide to keep her distance from him. “Well, you know, there could have been a lot worse reasons.” He teased with a shrug. “It’s good that I finally know why though.” Will admitted as he shifted forward a bit, grinning slightly at the peace offering of sorts, linking his own pinky with hers that she extended across the table. “So, we might actually not need to find all new friends after this?” He mused. 

[jordcnwiggins]

Her lips quirked upwards in a relieved smile that he wasn't too disappointed by this whole situation. Maybe their evening could be saved after all. "Oh yeah, are there a lot of reasons to avoid you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side a bit with a teasing glint in her eyes. As he reached forward and accepted her pinky promise, her smile only grew. "I guess not. Too bad though, I was really looking forward to starting fresh in the friend category. These ones were getting boring." Again, she was teasing of course. Jordan had a hard time taking herself seriously most of the time, but in a situation like this, it seemed like making light of everything was a good plan of action. "So, how'd your friends coerce you into this?" she asked, taking another sip of her water.

[jordcnwiggins]

starter for: @javireyes location: the office coffee co.

It was like every single citizen of Salt Flats had decided they needed a caffeine fix at the exact same time. As Jordan finally managed to place her order at the bar, she turned around, scanning the busy shop for an open table. After a few moments of doing so, she couldn't find a single table. But there was a table with one open seat. Jordan let out a huff, before turning on her friendliest smile. She turned towards the table and gave the man seated an apologetic smile. "Hi, umm... there doesn't seem to be any other open seats, would you mind if I sat here?" she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

[elijahcopeland]

The way she tossed a tease right back was just one of many reasons why he and Jordan just worked. It was a complicated relationship on a few levels, which he still appreciated, that was life and growth, yet it was the simple moments where there was no hesitation to just be themselves around each other that always took Elijah's heart. "Oh, is that it? I thought you were secretly mad at me about something again and taking an opportunity to get at me for it." They'd known each other too long, been through the ups and downs, and served as an integral fixture in each other's lives since they were young and foolish. Who would he be without her? Elijah never wanted to find out.

"Still a beast before your caffeine fix. Okay, I got you." Some laughter brought his body to lightly shake as he held her against him. "Well, I'm in a committed relationship. I had accepted and walked into it willingly, just had no idea how much it would take." He too was speaking of work, playing along with her analogy, yet enjoyed the implication they teased each other with. There were times other friends had asked him if he'd ever been jealous when Jordan was in the dating pool, and the truth was yes. Sharing her time, given how busy they both were, wasn't widely accepted. "So, what's the temporary high today? I'm buying."

[jordcnwiggins]

"I mean, I can list a few things I'm still mad at you about, if you want me to." As if to punctuate her point, she jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow, not hard enough to actually hurt of course. Elijah played too big a role in her day to day life for either one of them to not have a list a mile long of petty grievances. That was just the nature of someone being such an integral part of your life. And she loved it. She loved that even after all this time, they were still just as important to each other as they had been when they'd been college freshmen clinging to each other as they navigated undergrad. If it came down to a choice between not having him in her life and therefore never having to be annoyed at Elijah again or dealing with annoying him and him annoying her, she would always choose his special brand of annoyances.

"Oh, committed, hmm?" she asked, turning to look up at him with an 'okay, I see you!' sort of look. "I went in completely blind, had no idea what I was walking into. And now it feels a bit like stockholm syndrome." she replied with a grin and shake of her head. "I thought I was buying to make up for our little run in, but if free coffee is the reward I get for practically taking you out, remind me to keep bumping into you." And with that, she nudged him with her hip, offering him a playful smile.

[mikealaburgos-deactivated202308]

"A certified expert might be a bit too much." Halide said with a raise of her hands in the air because she was far from all of that. Rather someone who was still clumsily learning but had put down her pride when it came to embarrassment. At least long enough to figure out that it was actually fun. "Not to add pressure but no one is going to be able to look past you." Jordan was gorgeous, plain and simple. "I've been good. Running of fumes a lot lately but still trucking along."

[jordcnwiggins]

Jordan gave her friend a skeptical look. "Well, then I'd say you're a certified expert at looking like a certified expert." She waved off Halide's compliment with an appreciative smile. This was why she loved their time together. The two brunettes were a little bit obsessed with each other and time spent together always left both of them with an ego boost. "Yeah?" she asked, concern evident in her gaze. "How's your sister doing off at college?" she asked, knowing from past conversations that taking care of her sister was a huge priority for Halide.

[cheyennemartinez-deactivated202]

"then let's get you another drink." sometimes hedonism took over actually thinking things through and doing what was smart. it actually seemed to be something that took place with jordan quite a bit, just giving in. it was surprising the last few weeks had gone the way they had but in this moment the tension of that was felt so heavily between them. "what's your poison tonight?" she moved in closer and took jordan's fingers and began leading her toward the bar.

[jordcnwiggins]

She couldn't help but let her lips quirk upwards at Chey's agreement. In fact, Jordan had to bite her bottom lip to keep from smiling too much. As the other woman's fingers laced with hers, it felt like small jolt of electricity zapped through her. This was getting dangerously close to reckless abandon and her brain was screaming warning signs at Jordan, but all her body could do was follow the brunette towards the bar. Upon arrival, she turned to lean her elbow against it, her body facing Chey and giving her her undivided attention. "So far I've been on shots of tequila," she admitted with a laugh, "so what would you suggest?"

[marenwilliams]

Despite her best efforts, it seemed as though every attempt at friendship, or even civility, had been lost on Jordan. Despite their distance, it made Maren sad to think that there could be any bad blood between them. Jordan had once been like a sister to her, and the two were rarely seen apart. It wasn't that the singer had wanted things to change between them. It was just that the distance, along with her busy work schedule, hadn't spoiled them with the same amount of freedom.

"Could have fooled me. I know I've been gone for a while, but I don't remember this stick up your ass. Is it new?" Clearly, the woman had played nice long enough. And while she certainly could have been more understanding about how the other woman was feeling, there was nothing she hated more than being shut out. "If there's something on your mind, I prefer you say it instead of beating around the bush."

[jordcnwiggins]

Chalk it up to the utter exhaustion she felt, but Jordan had absolutely no patience for this. "Okay, you want honesty?" she asked, arching a brow. "I think it's pretty rich that you think it's okay to not even try to maintain a lifelong friendship just because you got all rich and famous and then come back here and act like nothing happened." Jordan was too tired to even think about mincing her words at this point. "Just because we're not your fancy, A-list celebrities, doesn't mean you can drop us and then pick us up when it's convenient for you, Maren." When she said 'us,' she really meant 'me,' but she was too proud to admit how much the loss of Maren's friendship had hurt. She'd always heard that romantic breakups were the worst heartache a person could go through. But losing your best friend? A friendship breakup of this magnitude had felt devastating.

[leyasadventure]

Leya's eyes widened and she nodded, "Yeah, I uh got a call to go sailing. I couldn't turn it down." She pointed to Roux grabbing as many boxes of Lucky Charms that he could and sighing, "loved sailing but he needed some stability. I figured Salt Flats would give him so stability but also adventure." She bit her lip and shook her head at her son, "he's three and obsessed with pirates. One of my favorite things to come out of the sailing trip." She chuckled, "so what all have you been up to? Hopefully not causing too much trouble without me."

[jordcnwiggins]

"Ah, right, sailing..." Jordan honestly hated that she was reacting this way. Hated that even after all these years, the sting of Leya just up and leaving was still there. But it was and she could barely contain her scoff at Leya's explanation. "Can't turn down sailing now, can we?" Taking advantage of the fact Leya's attention was diverted to Roux, Jordan shook her head in disbelief at this whole situation. "I don't know how much adventure you're gunna find around here, but hopefully he learns to like the place." She truly meant it, whatever her issues with Leya were, she obviously wished her son nothing but the best. At the other woman's question, Jordan was torn between wanting to show her how she had thrived in her absence, but on the other hand didn't feel like Leya deserved to get to waltz back into town after all this time and have access to Jordan's life like that. "I've been great, my cafe's been keeping me busy. Speaking of which," she glanced down at her phone, "I better get going, I've got a meeting with one of our suppliers I need to get to." she offered, preparing to push her cart along and act like this whole run in hadn't happened.

[lukegamble-deactivated20230404]

THE SILOS ⇢ FT. JORDAN WIGGINS ( @jordcnwiggins )

upon seeing her, luke pulled away from the few people he'd been talking to. his cigarette hung from his lips and his gaze remained pinned to hers. these days they didn't see much of each other, him and jordan, and there hadn't been anything specific that put distance between them. just life and adulthood and the way it could pull people in different directions. still, there was always that draw. "didn't expect to see you here," luke said when he was in front of her. they used to come here all the time. "the boss let you loose for a bit?" a joke, knowing she ran her own business.

[jordcnwiggins]

It had been ages since Jordan had made it down to the silos with her bike. With things as hectic as they were since ReThink's involvement at the cafe, and her father's scandal before that, Jordan simply hadn't had the time. But as she stepped onto the familiar soil; the sounds, smells, even the faces made her realize she needed to make time. This had always been a happy place for her. A place to enjoy herself and just let loose.

She could have sworn she felt his gaze even before she saw him. Something like a pinprick of recognition, like the final puzzle piece had finally slid into place in regards to feeling like she was truly back home. And as he walked towards her, she realized how much she had not only missed being here, but how much she had also missed Luke. Life, his relationship, the accident, so many things had piled up and become easy excuses, but as he approached, she hoped they'd be able to get their footing back.

When he finally stopped in front of her, Jordan couldn't help but smirk. Clearly, they would if that lame joke of his was any indication. "Wow. You've been waiting to use that one haven't you, Gamble?" she teased right back, shaking her head with a laugh. "Well, the boss," she paused to ensure he understood she was following his lead and referring to herself, "says get over here and give me a hug."

[mcrshmellows]

After all that happened last year, it was hard for Jay with his family. He felt responsible for them all, and yet there was nothing he could do to protect them. They had to face the looks and scrutiny of others as if what Ira had done was their fault too. Seeing his Mom going through it broke his heart more than anything, and yet the woman spent her time fussing over him. Her children always come first. It was hard on them all.

Jay sniffed and brown eyes moved to the take-out and instantly his stomach rumbled. Eating hadn't been top of his priorities that day. "Mm... thank you!" He placed the glasses by the plates and pulled up a seat, ready to dive into the food. "I don't do a lot... and what empire?" He asked with a scoff. The mention of his father immediately brought a scowl to his face. The older man glared when she stole a fry but immediately softened. Anything he owned would always be hers too, even if he was starving. Jay grabbed his burger and took a large bite and felt his shoulders fall with contentment, relieved to be eating and that Jordan was here. Comfort. "That's good," he said between bites, smiling at her proudly. "I can't say I'm his biggest fan right now but if he's doing good by you and the store, then I can't complain." He was mid-bite when he spotted an empty baggy on his counter. Remnants of the night before. "Where are my manners? Let me get you a fork..." He muttered with an awkward laugh. Jay quickly scooted over to the bag and shoved it in his pocket before she noticed, then pulled out two forks from his drawer. "There we go...Mom wouldn't like us sitting here eating like animals," he joked.

[jordcnwiggins]

"Oh, you know..." She put on her best impersonation of their father's voice, a skill she had damn near perfected when they were kids, "It's all going to come back, Jay my boy, everything's going to bounce back and when it does... this town will remember exactly who made it what it is today." With a roll of her eyes, she slumped over her own meal, angrily taking a sip of her drink. It was amazing the sort of delusions their father still had. He'd actually called her just the other day to give her a similar speech. And it was infuriating. As the conversation turned towards ReThink's involvement in Everything Goes, she let out a sigh. "I just..." she paused, there were few people she had been able to really talk about this with. "With ReThink being involved, it feels like I'm not necessary anymore." she admitted, but her attention was diverted at his awkward laugh. She knew her brother pretty damn well and that laugh set off warning bells. But as she did need a fork for her mac 'n cheese, she let it go. "Since when do you eat fries with a fork?" she asked once he had placed the utensils on the table for them, giving him a look, that clearly asked 'why are you being so weird?' Her attention was shifted though when she caught a whiff of her meal and turned hungry eyes back towards it. No matter how many times she ate their famous mac 'n cheese, she still never grew tired of it. It was just that good.