Good Girl with Bad Habits

Keely Harper. 32. Veterinarian. Dork. Cursed

[keelyharper]

About Keely

KEELY JULIET HARPER

32

VETERINARIAN AT AQUATICA

DOWNTOWN (SUNSET RIDGE)

TW: Middle Child Syndrome, Death

Keely Juliet Harper was born July 24, 1991, to Amelia and Jack Harper. Growing up, she always felt loved by her parents but when you’re the middle child, you tend to get overlooked, between the oldest and most rebellious sister and the baby who can do no wrong, Keely’s relationship with both her parents was strained. She felt like an outcast and ignored. Her best relationship growing up was with the dolls she played doctor with alone in her room. Her voice was never heard and when she came home crying after a bad day at school, it was overshadowed by baby sister whining or older sister yelling. She never felt like a true part of the family no matter how hard she tried. She was the mediocre child that is just there. To this day, her relationship with her parents is just as strained and while she still visits, its never for long because while she was the one who went on to become a vet, that pales in comparison to baby sister’s career.  

She has always loved animals. Even at an early age, she knew she wanted to work with them in whatever capacity existed. She isn’t your typical animal lover though. Whereas most people want the four legged variety, Keely loved the aquatic animals. She was fascinated by the idea of an entire underwater ecosystem and habitat living in harmony with one another and wanted to learn more about it so she started reading every book she could find on the subject. That’s not to say she doesn’t love dogs and cats, she just prefers the ones with scales/slippery skin. She is the proud owner of 4 fish and a turtle, all named after Shakespearean characters: Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, Lysander, Oberon, and Puck the Turt* (see end of this bio for photo reference)

She knew she wanted to be an aquatic vet for the first time when she rescued her fish from a disastrous fate. She was dancing in her room and knocked over her fish bowl, causing immediate duress to Mr. Gwilliam Grumps III. Seeing him gasping for air made her cry and she immediately threw him into the toilet until she could find him a new bowl to live in… she had no idea he would escape through the plumbing… to this day she wonders how his life turned out.

To most people, she could be considered a nerd, or weird, for her beliefs. She swears she saw a spaceship once thereby confirming the existence of aliens and strongly concurs with Bigfoot enthusiasts that they do in fact live among us. She loves watching shows about Cryptids and other unexplainable things, but especially the paranormal. If she hadn’t made it through vet school, she would have become a paranormal investigator. Don’t get her started on her many ghost stories because she will never stop talking. Period dramas/fantasy are her genre of choice but she doesn’t mind a good horror movie once in a while.

Keely does not own a car. She commutes everywhere on her scooter. She likes to feel the wind in her hair, the smell of the fresh air as she rides through town. She tends to feel a bit claustrophobic in cars so when she got her license, she bought herself a new scooter. It has a few dings and dents but she’s reliable and Keely has not once considered trading it in for a car.

Keely 100% believes she is cursed when it comes to matters of the heart, thereby she does not fall in love or give her heart away. She is fine with flings/brief courtships but when things start feeling serious, she will leave and walk away. She doesn’t talk about why she feels this way, not wanting to hear the typical ‘its just bad luck’ ‘you couldn’t have known’ condolences she has heard for years. She cannot fall in love with people because when she does, they die.

Her first attempt at love was in high school. His name was Kierian and he was the love of her young love. They were going to get married and start a family once he got out of the military and her veterinary practice took off. It was fun to talk about and plan with her sisters because it was something she believed in 100%… and then tragedy struck. Kierian drowned on vacation during his senior trip. He was swimming in the hotel pool and got a cramp in his leg while in the deep end and before anybody had realized anything was wrong, he had stopped breathing. The doctors said it was a 1 in a million accidental drowning but Keely felt like her world was over. She loved him and he left her. ‘There will be others. You’ll fall in love again.’ No I won’t’ She replied. ‘He had my entire heart.’

But she did move on. She met Samantha in Vet school and even though she was scared, she opened herself up to the idea of love again. They fell in love very quickly and Keely was the happiest she’d been since Kierian. They discussed marriage and had even moved in together, ready to start their lives in their practice. The day started like any other. Keely woke up, made their coffee, went to nudge her girlfriend awake as they had their final exam that day. It was important and she knew that Sam had stayed up the night before, despite complaining of a headache, studying for it. When 15 minutes had passed and Sam still hadn’t woken up, Keely went to check on her…

They pronounced her dead at 9:02am, a time that will stick with her for the rest of her life. The exact moment her heart broke for good. A brain aneurysm they said. One she had not known she had. It had ruptured on her in her sleep. She had been dead for hours and Keely hadn’t known. She wondered if she could have done something different, if she had paid better attention, Samantha might be alive. Losing her only confirmed what Keely now knows to be true about herself: loving her was toxic. Everyone she loves dies. Well, never again. She refuses to let herself fall for anyone again.

She buries herself in her work, ensuring that she doesn’t have time for a social life. She would not survive another death in her life. She knows that if you looked at it from an outside perspective, she was playing her partners, perhaps giving them false hope for a relationship but she can’t help how they feel, she comes with a disclaimer and its not her fault that they choose to ignore this, even if they don’t know about it.

ACTIVITIES:

VINO SPELL TRIVIA NIGHTS SHOP CLASS (LOL) READY SET CLEAN READ BETWEEN THE WINES OPEN MIC NOVA CONSERVATION LGBTQIA+ HANDS ON GAME ON COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS

**OPHELIA

LADY MACBETH

LYSANDER

OBERON

PUCK

[tylerxday]

Tyler snickered at her reaction, one he knew she would do too. "Well sadly you do but not as much as me" as he wiggled the squid at her with a laugh. Tyler smiled at her a moment he did normally prep the fish and made sure each animal had what they needed and liked. "Oh please I am used to it by now, it smells like roses and love to me" he teased. Really he was noise blind too it for the most part so it didn't bother him to badly. "Seems like you need it more than me" he teased her as he went on prepping the fish and squid. "Come on join in on the fun" he eyed towards the vitamins. @keelyharper

[keelyharper]

"I deal with the dead ones before they start to smell and if they do smell, that's when I call someone else to handle it. You know I can't handle that shit." She smirked, her nose crinkling in disgust. "There is a reason all my seaood has crust on it. So I don't have to smell that." Walking up to stand next to him, she grabbed the vegetables from the fridge and started sorting it out for the turtles. "Ty, if the roses you're buying smell like that, you've got a problem." She explained, stuffing a vitamin into a piece of melon. After she had finished with that, she grabbed a piece of squid and a knife, cutting a small slit into the flesh and slipping the pill inside. The way they fed the animals, there was no risk of it falling out of the carcass. "So tell me what's been going on with you. How's Bridget? Have you stopped being an idiot and asked her out yet?"

[aliyebalik]

Aliye did everything in life with the best of intentions and every fiber of her being had fully been committed to showing up to the brewery on time to hang out with Keely. Yet, as she got distracted time and again by one thing after the other, she once again found herself rushing out the door and speeding down the road in an effort to not be quite as late as she otherwise might have been. As such, her hair was a bit windswept from the ride, outfit a bit off kilter as she hopped out of her car. She was dressed in her usual more casual attire with a few accessories added to pop a bit more for the night out. Even with the slightly disheveled vibe of it all, it came together in a way that Aliye had always managed to make work for her. She was a mess, yes, but she liked to think of herself as a cute mess. "Keels, hey!" she called out from across the parking lot, voice carrying loudly as she scampered over towards the other woman. "Sorry, bit late and I totally realized halfway through the drive that I left my phone at home so I couldn't let you know, but. Here I am. And only like five ish minutes late, which may be an all time best for me." In the more casual atmosphere of hanging out doing something entirely unrelated to work, Aliye's words flowed freely at a mile a minute, wide grin plastered across her lips. "You ready for some beers? Maybe a little darts action?"

@keelyharper

[keelyharper]

Watching Aliye approach, she looked down at her own outfit and suddenly felt incredibly overdressed. “Why did I wear a dress? I look ridiculous.” She said to herself, brushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. She tried not to think too much of it though as it was too late to cancel. “Hey yourself!” She yelled back, walking towards the brunette with a smile on her face. Even though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, Keely really liked spending time with Aliye. Having someone care about animals like she did meant a lot to her and while she knew her love wasn’t as deep rooted as Keely’s, she never hesitated to call her if there was a life she could help save. Tonight though, she refused to talk about work. She just wanted to get to know the brunette better, to build on their friendship and see where the night led them. They were some of the last guests at the brewery tonight, which Keely was thankful for. She didn’t like huge crowds so having it be just the two of them was special. “You’re fine babe. I wasn’t worried. Okay so maybe I was worried a little bit because this is my first time like trying something like this in a really long time. Not that this has to be anything, it can just be casual, even if I am extremely overdressed for just beers with a friend. God, I feel ridiculous. Oh god, I’m rambling. Sorry, I’m socially awkward and don’t get out much.” She confessed, turning away from the brunette as she felt her cheeks flushing. She regained some semblance of composure and turned back to her. “Yes. Let’s do this! One thing though, do not let me talk about work, okay? If I do, you have to tell me and then I'll either have to drink or you give me something to do. Deal?”

[isabelmulligan]

"Amazing," she said, "but I'm more interested to hear mine on yours," she countered, her double meaning very clear in her eyes. Amy wasn't about to be subtle when a woman like that was talking to her and flirting with her. "Yeah, I like animals but I don't think I could deal with them all day," she admitted. Amy couldn't see herself working with animals all day, and truthfully she'd never get through all the schooling, "it also takes a shit ton of training right?" she asked. She bit her lip at Keely's comment about a dress, "that is something I'd very much like to see, but I wouldn't mind seeing you not in a dress either..."

@keelyharper

[keelyharper]

"Well Amy, perhaps you'll get to hear it very very soon." She smirked, giving her a wink, motioning the bartender over. "We'll have another one. After that, I don't know, guess we'll find out." The blonde teased, her nose wrinkling as she turned her whole body around on the stool so she was completely facing the younger woman. "I was destined to do this job. Especially when I prefer the company of animals more than people sometimes. It just made sense." She confessed, taking a sip of her drink. "It did. Four years of undergrad and four years of vet school. It was exhausting, burdensome but so worth it in the end." Keely nodded, her smile weak but present on her face. It finished forming at Amy's words and she found herself flushing. "Is that right? Can we substitute the dress for scrubs and get out of here?"

[tylerxday]

There was a downside of every job and he knew it. What he didn't like to do was deal with making the food for the animals. Since most of the animals did eat some form of seafood and it was messy and smelly. It wasn't the fun part of all of but it had to be done. The animals did need food, they needed the best food there was for them too. That they mixed with any vitamins that the animals needed.

He had stopped and coughed at the smell since the squid was really smelly. "Damn" he laughed. He shook his head and try to not think about the smells. He looked up to see Keely walk into the roof. "Oh just in time to stuff the vitamins " he teased as he held up one of the squids. @keelyharper

[keelyharper]

"Absofuckinglutely not. I do not deal with dead things, that is your job." She said, grabbing her nose as the smell of the dead squid finally filled the room. "Oh my god, the smell. Why did I come in here?" She asked, waving her hand in front of her face. She usually had a pretty good gag reflex, not much in the way of making herself nauseous but dead things, especially ones that are of the fish variety, was not something she could stomach much of. When an animal died on her watch, it was usually removed immediately before it had a chance to smell but this, this was something else entirely. "Tyler, did you try the trick I taught you?" She asked, reaching into her bag for the menthol cream. She scooped some onto her finger and pressed it under and inside her nose. "Now. Give me the fucking vitamins." She said, putting the beside her on the sink. @tylerxday

[keelyharper]

Who: @aliyebalik

Where: Madmonk Brewery then Keely's Apartment

When: June 23, 2024

Keely was not one to back out on a promise and enough time had passed for her to follow through on her words. She pulled out her phone, sending a brief message to Aliye, requesting her company at the brewery. The blonde had never been a fan of beer, preferring the fruiter drinks offered at the many restaurants around town but the beer brewed at Mad Monk had come highly recommended and she figured she would put those words to the test. She had thrown on a nice dress, her hair curled and she'd acually managed to put some makeup on. She wanted to look a bit more presentable than the last time they'd seen one another. She checked her watch, pacing around the parking lot as she waited for her to arrive. She wasn't sure where the night might lead but she had finally decided to act on the tension she'd been feeling with the brunette for months now. She pulled out her phone and sent her a text, hoping that she hadn't changed her mind.

[lennyxclairmont]

Lenny hadn't thought that her sister was already talking too much. In fact, she had almost forgotten what the younger woman sounded like considering their lack of communication as of late. She shook her head, "No, I didn't eat." Frankly, Lenny had been far too nervous too eat, so she came with an empty stomach. "Thanks," Lenny stepped inside the home as Keely moved to the side. "Uh - uh, what did you get for dinner?" She didn't want to assume that Keely had made something - not expecting that kind of treatment from her. @keelyharper

[keelyharper]

Tonight already felt awkward and it only just begun. Part of wanted to just make up some excuse to cancel but she knew she couldn't because Lenny was already in the house and it would be rude not to entertain her. Besides, tonight was long overdue. An olive branch needed to be extended to her sister and she just hoped that she hadn't ruined their relationship completely. "Oh uh Chinese. I figured that would be easier, less dishes for me to stare at for a week before finally washing." She joked, walking into the living room where her plants and fish tanks sat. "Okay so this is where I spend most of my days, when I'm home at least. There's the kitchen," She said, pointing behind her. "And the bathroom is right there. 3rd door on the left." She stated, before moving to sit on the couch. "I wasn't sure what you liked now that we're all grown up so I ordered a little bit of everything."

[rohanxwalsh]

Starter for @keelyharper Location: Paws and Beyond

Rohan had gotten off work and decided to stop by Paws and Beyond to get Ace some new toys. He noticed that the dog's favorite toy had gotten old and it was falling apart. Rohan was a bit tired and drained, the case he was working on and other stuff going on. Rohan was lost in his head, not really thinking of anything when he heard the other's voice. "Oh, hey Keely," he spoke with a smile on his face as he looked at her. "It has been awhile."

[keelyharper]

Keely had been meaning to make a stop at Paws and Beyond to get some more food for the stray that kept hanging out around her apartment building. She didn't have a dog of her own but she cared for all animals, even if they didn't have gills. She was walking through the treats aisle, rolling her eyes. "Is there anything here that contains actual meat and not this fake shit?" She said, looking over to the person next to her. "Rohan. Y..yeah it has been a while. How've you been?"

[kaceyxhuddington]

He chuckled a moment at her "I've heard the same for being on cruise ship, but it wasn't like we ever went fishing off the ship" he laughed. But really the ship had chefs from all over the world so he had all sorts of food. "I mean there was this one time that I took wrong turn and fished" he laughed and shook his head only kidding. "Owe!" he rubbed his arm only kidding. Keely was good girl he could see it, funny and kind and pretty he didn't know how she ran around this town single. "Nah I never reach that and along with bad jokes I always have some backed up" he snickered. He gasped at her "I was about to say I would not let you pay, but here you are making me pay" he teased as they walked towards the diner. @keelyharper

[keelyharper]

"Wait let me get this right. You worked on a cruise ship, that floated on the actual ocean, and there was not a fishing option for guests? I mean, that is literally what boats are for these days." She said, her eyebrows raising in confusion. "I will never understand anything nautical. I take care of these creatures on a daily basis but I'm a firm believer that fishing is necessary if done properly. If I had a dollar for every time we receive creatures that were rescued from fishing lines, or illegally captured, I'd be a fucking millionaire." She said, shaking her head. She was nothing if not passionate about her work and she wasn't afraid to show it. "Such a gentleman, Sully. I'm impressed. You'll make someone a good partner one day."

[isabelmulligan]

"Oh I will definitely take that," she smiled, reaching out her hand to shake the others, "Keely," she repeated, testing out the name on her tongue. Amy noted the age difference but it did not phase her, it seemed that Kismet was crawling with stunning older woman and Amy was not going to deprive herself. She listened to the woman's explanation, it made sense but Amy would never have got to that conclusion on her own. "Now that sounds like a pretty amazing job," she declared. "Hey, if this is you at your worse, I am very excited about the future," she smirked.

@keelyharper

[keelyharper]

"How does my name sound on your lips?" She asked, looking over at her and smirking. She was not blind when it came to the woman's age but Keely never cared for age differences, so long as they were over 21 and interested, so was she. This woman looked to be around that age if slightly older so she wasn't about to back off if the cute blonde wanted anything from her. After explaining what she did for a living, she had a brief moment of doubt, wondering it it would scare off her company. Relieved to hear that it hadn't she laughed, nodding her head. "I love it. You have to really love animals to do what I do." She further explained, raising her eyebrows playfully. "You should see me in a dress babe. Total knockout. Honestly, you won't be able to resist."

[diegoocastro]

Diego knew what him and Keely had wasn't normal at all. Part of him felt like it was more then the normal friends with benefits. But he knew too what she wanted and it wasn't more then what they were doing. He knew it was hard, hard since he had a kid that would always be in his life and she wasn't one to like kids and that was fine to him.

He shook his head "No I should have done better I know that you didn't like kids at all" he looked over at Dev playing. "I could have told you once his mom told me I had to get him to day" but he didn't think of it at the moment he just was in rush to get over to his son to pick him up. "You don't need to play with him or talk to him really just know him" he wasn't going to push that today if she wasn't ready. "He's smart he knows how to handle himself and if someone doesn't want to talk he get that" with other kids or adults if Dev could tell they didn't want to talk he wouldn't make them. He paused hearing what she said. "You are not screwed up Keely... you are fine to not like kids or be around all of this" he knew it was a lot to deal with. "I think you are an amazing and good friend, I like the fun.... we have" he did not even know at times he did feel like it was all they did. "Keely" this was hard part of him just wanted to pull her in and hold her but part of him didn't think she wanted that. "I'll be here for you always" he was going to be "Whatever you need ok..." if it was being apart for a while or just a few days whatever she needed. He did reach out for her but pulled himself back as he didn't want to make her feel worse now. "I am sorry for having you come out here.... " it wasn't that bad of a drive but still it was a bit of her time. @keelyharper

[keelyharper]

“Diego, really, its fine. He’s your son. I don’t expect you to drop everything for me. We’re friends, we don’t have to spend every waking hour together. You have a much bigger priority and I respect that.” She said, biting her lip. “No, that’s not okay. I don’t want his only time seeing me to be a bad memory for him. I might not like kids but I refuse to sit here ignoring him for the rest of the day simply because of that. I’d rather he think something came up. This is not his fault and I never want him to feel that it is. This is 100% me.” The blonde finished, running a hand through her hair. “Go. Spend time with the kiddo, I’ll be fine.” She said, reaching up to gently graze his cheek before closing the distance between them, her arms wrapping around him tightly. She knew this wasn’t goodbye forever but it suddenly felt like one. She pulled back slowly and offered him a warm smile. “I haven’t been a very good friend to you either. What we do is great, and you’re really really good at it but I want you to know that that is not all I need you for. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like that’s all you are to me. I might not be able to put into words what you being in my life means but you are my friend and I promise once I’m better, I will prove it to you, okay?” She nodded, standing on her tiptoes to plant a kiss to his cheek. “See you around, Diego Castro.” Keely said, turning on her heels and walking down the drive to where her scooter was. She didn’t look back, knowing that if she did, he would see the tears raining down her face.

END

[aliyebalik]

When it came to situations like this, Aliye didn’t care how much time it took or how exhausting it could be to help. At the end of the day, she knew that what they were doing mattered and she was always going to throw herself into helping the animals at a hundred percent. Having Keely there made it feel even more important, since it was obvious how much this sort of thing meant to the woman. Aliye wasn’t one to like the feeling of letting anyone down, so whatever it took to get the turtle back out to the ocean safely, she was there for it. “I’ll talk to you however you want if it helps,” she hummed back teasingly, glad that even in such a stressful situation they were able to keep the mood somewhat lighter. “Thankfully I don’t think he’s been out here too long. I’m usually up and down the shoreline all day, so I would have noticed him earlier if he’d been here too long.” The turtle wasn’t in the best shape, but it could have been far worse if they hadn’t gotten to him as quickly as they had. Once they lines were cut away, Aliye moved back to let Keely have more room to finish her work. Watching from a bit back, she had an easy smile at her lips, loving that she got to watch Keely in her element like this as often as she did. “Totally not crying at all. This stuff like really means a lot to you, doesn’t it? What got you into this line of work?”

@keelyharper

[keelyharper]

Rescuing animals, no matter what kind, was always rewarding for the blonde, even if the outcome wasn’t always as positive as tonight’s had been but knowing that in their last few minutes, or days on the Earth, they had felt love and compassion made her job so rewarding. Sure the wild side of them had no qualms about biting or showing their overall displeasure but she knew that they appreciated her nonetheless. “He doesn’t look dehydrated or dried out so this was probably within the last hour or two. He’s more exhausted than anything so you did right by calling me. He wouldn’t have made it till morning.” She explained, looking up at her with a smile. “Gonna have to add lifesaver to that resume of yours now.” She winked, finishing up with the turtle. She sat down in the sand once she could no longer see the turtle and looked over at her friend, patting the spot next to her. “I have always had this desire to help people and animals, despite growing up in a household where I felt overlooked. Being a middle child meant I took the brunt of the punishments and blame because older sister was a saint who I should have aspired to be and younger sister was the favorite who could do absolutely nothing wrong. My sisters had dogs and cats, I had fish. I can’t explain it, I’ve just always loved the more exotic pets, if I could have raised spiders, I would have. I wanted my parents to be proud of me and I thought going to med school would help but they keep telling me I’m not a “real” doctor. So I became one to prove them wrong. I wanted to be different, take care of the animals that get overlooked because they’re not cute and cuddly and are a little bit different, like me. I don’t know, that probably sounds really stupid, right?”

[lennyxclairmont]

Not having a good relationship with her younger sister was not something that Lenny enjoyed - however, over the years, Keely had not given her more than a few inches in their relationship so her efforts soon lessened. Which was why it came as a surprise that Keely had invited her over. The discussion with Ray, left her accepting the offer, leaving Ray and the girl's to enjoy an evening together. At least, as long as things went well with Keely. The woman didn't know if she'd return early from the outing or not. Lenny arrived at Keely's place, turning off the engine before getting out of her vehicle and knocking on the door. @keelyharper

[keelyharper]

Keely still wasn't sure how tonight was going to go, she knew she owed her sister an explanation as to why she'd been distant, why she had been so stubborn but she had no idea where to even begin. How do you tell your sister that you're fucked up, that you believe you're cursed knowing she might not believe you? She was ready to try and fix things, to build back the relationship they had had when they were kids. It was going to take a lot of talking, and alcohol, for her to get through tonight but she had to try. She owed her sister that much. She was the only one in the family who still cared, who still bothered to text and call her, even if Keely ignored them. Tonight was her chance to try and repair the damage she had caused. The knock pulled her from her thoughts and she smiled, walking over to answer. "Hey sis, come on in. I was just about to set dinner out for us. Unless you've already eaten in which case I'll just have leftovers tomorrow. I couldn't remember if you said you had eaten so I ordered food... Shit, I'm talking too much already. Just come in please." The blonde said, standing aside to give her sister room to enter.

[veritywagner]

Verity gave the woman a somewhat of an apologetic smile, because there was no denying that Verity was just here for the social aspect of things. Not to actually win, because she knew her chances in that were slim. Not that she was dumb by any means, trivia just wasn't really up her ally. "I mean.." She paused, shrugging, "I always try?" She responded, "But I can't like.. guarantee you a win if that is what you are looking for, because the team I'm usually here with usually end up in the middle." She openly admitted. @keelyharper

[keelyharper]

"That's good enough for us. Welcome aboard!" She said, pulling out the chair for the blonde. They still had a few minutes before the match was set to begin so Keely took that time to get to know their newest member. "Don't worry about anything. You don't even have to answer. Its a group decision but if its something you think you know, chime in. We will discuss and then come to a general consensus. There are no losers on this team, okay? So don't worry if you fuck up or feel like you're not contributing, its all in good fun." Keely explained, offering her a warm smile. "Name's Keely by the way. Not sure if I've said that already."

[diegoocastro]

He knew what him and Keely was friends and with benefits but sometimes he did feel like it was really just the benefits side of things. He did want to be her friend too and really that firstly. But after everything in town, he felt like things were a bit off. He helped her with a creep and wanted to go to dinner. That he would do with any friend, a female one or male. But something about the dinner Keely didn't like was that it seemed like a date to her. That Diego didn't feel that, he thought it was their normal night out before going back to one of their places.

Part of him knew he should have texted her, that she didn't like kids and didn't seem to want to know Dev at all. That did hurt Diego a bit as he thought of Keely as a friend and wanted his friends to know and his son. But Dev was a wild boy and wanted to play right away why his phone got sat down and Diego got the last track of time. But Diego had to chuckle at her reaction to the dinosaur mask. "No... I mean who knows" he smirked but it soon faced seeing her reaction. "To be honest I don't even know where my phone is"he looked around his apartment. "But I am sorry" he still was about it. But really it wasn't that far on her bike and he knew she liked to ride. He looked at her as she seemed to panic before he took a step out but not to far since Dev was in the house alone. "Keely it's okay" he said wanting to reach for her but he pulled back. "You're my friend right? even if it's with.. something else" he said as he watched as Dev went to play with some of his toys on his own. "and my friends know him, you don't need to be close or anything just he's gonna be in my life forever so it's better if my friends do know him" he nodded "or do you think we are not friends just ... cuddle buddies...." he said as he knew Dev was near by. @keelyharper

[keelyharper]

Okay so admittedly she had overreacted that night at dinner when Diego had gone out of his way to take her somewhere nice. She had read far too much into it and as a result, had created unnecessary tension between them. Still, she couldn’t help how she felt and seeing all those couples acting so in love and happy, it made her feel strange. She knew that Diego’s intentions were pure, and while he saw it as nothing more than dinner with a friend, she had taken it too literally. Was Diego datable? Absolutely. He really was a lovely man and so charming and sexy and they never seemed to run out of things to talk about. Any person would be crazy not to scoop him up. Just not her. She wasn’t good enough for him, she wasn’t good enough for anyone. And that night just solidified exactly why. The idea of any sort of commitment had sent her running in horror. She knew what she had to do but wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to do it.

“You don’t have to apologize, I get it. I just… I’m sorry okay? Just seeing him in there in his cute little dinosaur jammies and you in your mask, it was just to much. I know he’s going to always be in your life and I don’t mind that, I just, I wasn’t prepared to meet him today and I… I don’t know that I ever will be. I don’t have that desire to play dress up or pretend to be a dinosaur. I don’t know how to talk to kids and on days like today where you have him, I don’t want to ruin your fun. And I would. I would be a Debbie Downer because I see him, and I shouldn’t want to run away. I shouldn’t see him and be annoyed. I shouldn’t be mad at you for having your kid today. But I am. And that’s really fu… messed up.” She paused, running a hand through her hair before gently wiping her eyes. “We are friends, Diego, nothing is going to change that but I… I need to figure some things out. About myself. About why I’m so screwed up up here. And in here.” She said, pointing to her head first and then her heart. “I don’t want to lose you but if I keep feeling this way, I know that I will. And this isn’t a permanent goodbye. We can still talk and “hang out” but until I figure out what’s wrong with me, I can’t offer you much more than that. I’m sorry.” She said, her eyes brimming with tears.

[isabelmulligan]

Amy was glad that the woman didn't seem annoyed by her presence, in fact she was rather appreciative of it, at least for now. "Well, I like to think that I am pretty good company," she stated with a smile, "I'm Amy," she introduced. She watched as the woman took off her jacket, showing that she was wearing scrubs underneath. The clothes were the definition of unflattering but Amy couldn't stop her eyes surveying the other blonde. Then she mentioned smelling of tuna and Amy's eyebrow's immediately knitted together in confusion, "what do you do that requires scrubs and also involves tuna?" she questioned.

@keelyharper

[keelyharper]

"Well you're certainly the hottest I've had so far tonight" She smirked, reaching out her hand to shake. "Nice to meet you Amy, I'm Keely." The blonde said, pulling her hand back to rest on the counter. Her company was young but Keely didn't mind, any opportunity to talk to an attractive person was a win in her eyes, no matter the age difference. She felt the other woman eyeing her when she took her coat off and she smiled to herself. Even in scrubs she could turn heads. Not that that was the goal here but if the shoe fit. "I'm the lead veterinarian over at Aquatica. Today was 'wellness check day' which meant going for a swim with the actual fishes." She chuckled. "Normally I smell and look way better than this but I haven't been home yet. Not the best first impression I'm afraid."

[sarocha--naiyana]

"You're totally fine!" Sarocha smiled as she greeted her friend, giving her a hug once she came inside. "I get it," she nodded. "Maybe not the scooter part, but running late. You have no idea how many times I've been late because of traffic or because I got out of work late." Sometimes she had to wait to go home when one of the other nurses hadn't come to work yet, and that was her least favorite thing about her job. "At least you're here now!" Sarocha headed over to the counter and told the clerk her shoe size before looking back at Keely. "How was your day? Besides your scooter not working."

[keelyharper]

"I really should turn the old girl in and buy a car but I just don't want too, you know? A scooter is much more convenient and smaller, takes up less space, and if I have a bigger car, I'll be expected to do more things for people and yeah, that's just not me." She laughed, her nose wrinking before putting her helmet and bag into one of the lockers available. "My day was great, we got a new shipment of the Xingu River Rays which are absolutely gorgeous by the way. I cannot wait watch them enjoy retirement in our giant pools." She said, grabbing her own pair of shoes before making their way to one of the tables. "I'm so glad we could do this. I've been needing a girl's night for quite a while."