[lxlahq-blog]

nxahhqs

of all the things noah had learned about the new living environment he’d found himself in, the fact that the little girl napping inside had allergies was one that he made a point of bookmarking in his mind. little kids freaked him out as it was, but little kids with prominent restrictions freaked him out even more. he watched lola stand, about to instinctively butt out his own cigarette before she told him to take his time. with a subtle nod of his head he watched her make her way inside, eyes instinctively moving over her body before the door was closed behind her and he was left alone with his thoughts. he was gonna give this a go, a proper go, before he started planning any sort of excuse for why the apartment wasn’t a good fit for him. she’d opened her home to him, she’d been nothing but accommodating since he’d walked through the door – he owed her the respect of giving this a chance. with a sigh he pushed to his feet, butting out his cigarette before letting himself back inside and double checking the door was closed properly behind him before catching sight of lola cleaning up. “here, let me help.” he smiled, bending down to grab some of the toys on the carpet and placing them in the same container lola was placing hers. “this is what its like, huh? bloody toys everywhere.” he smirked, picking up a couple of blocks and juggling them as he spoke.

with a slight jump, lola turned to where noah had already started putting toys in the basket she knew would be empty by the time she headed to bed that night, meeting his eyes quickly. “i’m just happy she’s still too small for lego, i’m actually terrified for the day when i start stepping on those.” she dropped the last of the blocks in her hand into the basket at their feet, ignoring the clang of plastic as they fell. “alright so, that’s my room there — doors always open, so if you need something just knock and pop in.” she stepped into the hall quickly, pointing out all of the doors to the other man. “this is rhiannon’s room, but she usually sleeps in with me, so if you want to paint in there, you’re more than welcome to.” she paused for a second as she pushed the door at the end of the hallway open and stepped inside. “and this is all yours. you can do basically whatever you want with it — i honestly don’t mind.” she did a quick twirl in the space, happy that soon enough the empty corners would be giving someone something that they hadn’t had before.

[lxlahq-blog]

|| closed starter for @jiebermcnn

after a day spent inside obsessively redecorating her room, lola was finally pleased with the outcome, everything finally as clean as it had been more than ten months earlier when rhiannon was nothing but a bump. it felt almost momentous to the woman that she’d been able to get everything into it’s place, not a single thing out of order — except for the empty vase beside her bed. it took less than a blink for her to be annoyed by it, the process of getting dressed and strapping her daughter into the almost too small carrier barely noticeable until she was out of the door and walking to the florist. “now, promise me you’re not going to grab at the pretty things.” she whispered the words to no reply from the baby on her chest, pushing the door to the local florist open with a smile on her lips.

[lxlahq-blog]

pcndcras

   ｡.:*☆ “no, you’re fine. could you maybe just…” she motions with her paintbrush, a soft flicking motion that would position them right outside of what she’s trying to paint, but still able to see the sunset. “just a little to the side and we’ll be all set. i’m just trying to get the building like… right where you’re standing.” she explains, sighing softly with her words. “she’s beautiful, by the way.” she adds, not wanting to come off as completely rude. “what’s her name ? “ 

lola could have laughed at the motion the woman made with the paintbrush, immediately taking a step so she was out of the way. “i’d make a joke about adding us in, but i don’t think she’d ever stay still enough for it.” taking a step closer to the brunette, she let her daughter down off her shoulders, pulling her onto her hip with practised ease. “do you wanna say thank you bubby?” she cast a glance to the infant as she approached the other, a smile on her lips. “this is rhiannon, and i’m lola — maroon building. and that is just, wow...” she trailed off as she took in the canvas in front of the woman, pleased that she’d stepped out of the way to let art happen. 

[lxlahq-blog]

nxahhqs

on some level noah knew that she was kidding, yet he still made a pointed mental note not to complain about the little girl inside to anyone online. not that he would anyway. he’d almost forgotten about the sleeping baby inside, his muscles tensing ever so slightly at the reminder that he was now living with a dependent, breakable child. noah knew all too well the struggle of trying to get paint out of carpet, his parents studio floor covered in little spots of paint to this day. “cross my heart, i’ll keep all form of painting restricted to hardwood floor areas only.” he chuckled, body beginning to relax again as he took a long drag from his cigarette. despite the doubts that flooded his mind about his new living arrangement, it was hard not to let a smile pull its way onto his features as lola spoke of why she’d specifically wanted an artist to take her spare room. “i’ve got a couple of small canvases coming with all my stuff so maybe she could have a go with them.” he shrugged, not quite knowing what it was he was signing himself up for.

“the ice tea must be going to your head, love…” she chuckled softly at herself before she butted out her cigarette, taking an immediate breath of fresh air to try and calm the craving that was already clawing up her spine. “i’m sure she’d absolutely love that, just have to be careful of the paints. she gets really bad eczema, and we don’t really know what flares it up just yet.” with a nod towards the monitor, lola stood from the table stretching her back slightly as she walked back towards the apartment. “take your time, i’m just gonna go and check on her — but when you’re ready i’ll give you a tour of the apartment.” the relief that flowed through the woman when she stepped inside and saw her daughter napping exactly where she’d left her was something she’d only learnt as a mother, shaking her head as she quickly tidied up what she could of the common areas before noah came inside.

[lxlahq-blog]

nxahhqs

noah listened on quietly as lola told him all about her online presence, nodding his head every now and again to symbolise that he was paying attention as he took drags from his cigarette. he had no idea mummy bloggers were even a thing, the whole concept seeming so incredibly strange to him. despite that, he knew he’d be on his phone later that night having a scroll and trying to make sense of it all. a quiet laugh fell from his lips at the mention of him appearing in the back of photos, shrugging one of his shoulders so she knew it wasn’t any sort of issue for him. “mm, i’ve got twitter. its an odd thing, selling art. its a bit like a cult really, word of mouth and all that.” he replied, taking a sip of the ice tea and cursing just how soothing it felt sliding down his throat. “i promise i’ll lay down a sheet before I do anything, yeah? not gonna muck up your floors with paint or anything.” he knew it was a lie, drips of paint always seeming to find their way beneath any sort of covering he put on the floor. “why’d you decide to rent your room out to artists? seems a bit… specific.”

“well i’m going to need your handle so i can have a go at you whenever you tweet about rhiannon chucking a sook or crawling after you.” she cast a quick glance inside as she spoke about her daughter, already feeling the uncomfortable heaviness on her chest that always turned up when she was away from her for too long. “eh, floors clean. just don’t muck up the carpet out in the lounge because then i’ll really have to kill you. they’re the worst thing to clean, and trust me, i know from exprience.” although the woman had never considered her apartment to be empty, it already felt more filled with someone to talk to, especially when that person could reply to her in more than just garbled almost formed words. “my parents are artists, so i grew up around all types of people who were into all types of things. and when i moved here it seemed like the perfect thing to let rhiannon into a little, so we could have that shared exprience, y’know?”

[lxlahq-blog]

lola cassidy — socials 03/10/18

[lxlahq-blog]

lakcsh

          she’d grown accustomed to multitask .       leaning slightly to the left , awkwardly , after all with finn on her hip , her body twisted in a way she wasn’t too sure it should , but she still managed to catch the small ball on the off bounce in her left hand , and she herself was even amazed that she did .     ‘     it’s all good , lovely .     ’      she mused , moving closer , arm extended with the ball towards the other blonde .      ‘      it happens , they’re quick little monsters when they wanna be .      ’       her fingers , tickling finn gently as he curled into her side with a small giggle .

the second lola’s eyes met those of the woman catching rhiannon’s stray ball she was smiling, seeing the baby on her hip feeling was almost like a flashback for the blonde. “oh, don’t i know it.” her laugh was easy, eyes still locked on the infant in her arms as she handed the ball back. “how old’s this little guy? i’d hazard a guess at eight months, maybe?”

[lxlahq-blog]

ofcelodie

elodie stepped into the familiar building and scanned the room with a little smile. she was excited to finally meet someone she’d consider a friend by now and hopefully a friend she’d be able to start seeing outside the internet. she gave the familiar blonde a little wave before walking over to the table, her smile starting to grow a bit more. “hey!! it’s so good to actually see you! thank you for agreeing to actually meet me!” 

“why on earth are you thanking me, love?” lola was quick to pull her body out of the comfortable seat, stepping into the other woman’s space to offer her a quick hug. “i’m so happy you’re here, honestly. and not just because it gave me a chance to get a sitter.” an easy laugh rolled off her tongue as she slipped back into her seat, offering a waiter a quick smile and wave so they could order. “now, not to sell myself out as a fan — but it’s a latte, right?”

[vancethediligent-deactivated201]

Vance was coming home from a long day of work. He was walking along the sidewalk of the building on the rather mellow Thursday evening when he saw Lola struggling with the groceries and the little child next to her. For a moment Vance froze at the sight of the child and he saw one of the brown bags looking as if they were going to break in her arms before he took a deep breath as he gently grabbed the bag from her arms before it was going to break and got a better grasp on it as he held the door open for her as well, still not really saying anything besides simply giving her a soft, weak smile hoping to hide the tiredness within his dark brown eyes.

@lxlahq

[lxlahq-blog]

it took a lot for lola to consider taking her car out, the woman much preferring to walk almost anywhere she could now that rhiannon was closer to walking than she was away from it. but even she was willing to admit that maybe grocery shopping would have been better with her car to pack everything into. with her maroon coloured home within sight and her daughters chubby fingers pulling through her hair, she knew that it was just a few more steps — even if those few took longer than the last few had and even if her bag split, she could deal with it. but in less than the time it took the blonde to blink, vance had stepped to her side out of nowhere, as he had countless times before, the bag sitting in his arms as she let out a sigh of relief. “you really do have a knight in shining armour complex, don’t you?”

[lxlahq-blog]

nxahhqs

noah nodded his head with a small smile, still not quite sure how to handle anything that even remotely resembled praise when it came to his work. he glanced down at her phone as lola placed it down on the counter between them, his eyes widening ever so slightly as one of his first works stared back up at him. “holy shit.” he laughed in disbelief, shaking his head as he looked up to meet lola’s bright eyes. what kind of alternate reality had he stepped into? he climbed to his feet, following her out onto the balcony and lighting a cigarette as soon as the door was closed properly behind them. “yeah, thank you. it seems like its gonna be good.” noah replied as he dropped the tobacco and lighter down onto the glass table, taking another long sip from the ice tea before sitting down next to lola. “you’ve got a blog? whats it about?” noah asked curiously, exhaling smoke out towards the city before them. “i don’t really know what blogs entail.” he admitted, sliding his sunglasses down to cover his eyes as an easy laugh fell from his lips.

it had never really occurred to lola just how small everything in her apartment was until noah’s all too long legs were folded into one of her patio seats, the woman letting out a soft laugh at the sight. “it’s mainly about rhiannon, and sometimes it’s about me. i do the whole instagram thing too — but it’s not ha;f as interesting as people expect.” keeping to her earlier promise, the blonde reached for one of noah’s cigarettes, checking the monitor was turned on before she lit it and met his eyes through the coloured glass. “apparently people really care about how i’m raising her, and i really like talking, so it works out for everyone. i’m sorry in advance if you turn up in the back of photos or blog posts.” she took a quick sip from her ice tea before she had another long drag of the cigarette between her fingers, the woman suddenly not able to remember why she’d ever quit in the first place. “so you’re not online at all? isn’t that a good way to market yourself — and your art?”

[lxlahq-blog]

|| closed starter for @lindscyy

after an almost too long week and a seriously too long dinner with her sister, lola knew there was nowhere she wanted to be anymore than a wine bar with lindsey. it was their thing, quick text exchanges and open bottles whenever either of them needed it, and the woman knew that one night of pumping and dumping was worth it for the stress relief. she was almost halfway through her first glass of wine by the time she scanned the bar for the woman, a bright smile on her red painted lips as she met the others eyes. “i totally didn’t start without you!”

[lxlahq-blog]

nxahhqs

“you could say that. we did a showing together in london in 2015.” noah chuckled quietly, running both his hands through his blonde hair as he settled and felt every muscle in his body begin to relax the second the room filled with the sound of the kettle. remembering to keep things off the floor and out of reach of a baby was going to be a struggle, noah all too often leaving things wherever he put them down and not thinking about them again for weeks. “i can’t believe you’re making me do this. they should take your citizenship just for having this in your flat.” noah teased as he picked up the glass of ice tea, hesitantly taking a sip and feeling his insides immediately cool. “jesus christ, alright. okay. not awful, i suppose.” he chuckled, taking another long sip from the glass as the kettle finished boiling. “on the patio, door closed, you’re a thief. got it.” the smile that took over his features was completely effortless, the reality of living with a mum and baby no longer seeming like the worst thing in the world. “do you mind if we…?” he trailed off, rising to his feet and shaking his pouch of tobacco, nodding back towards the patio.

“hang on — in london, at that little gallery…. the bradford? that was your art? i had no idea.” with a quick chuckle, lola grabbed for her phone, lighting her screen up and clearing the instagram notifications taking up her screen. “i have one of your pieces as my wallpaper.” she placed the photo down on the table in front of them, the grainy painting shining through her phone screen. she held back an ‘i told you so’ about the iced tea, instead filling her own glass and letting the kettle fall silent behind them as he spoke. “i don’t mind at all, i’ve got the monitor on for bub.” sliding her phone back into her pocket she moved towards the large glass doors, undoing the lock and pushing the doors open to her favourite part of the apartment. “this is where i come to write in the middle of the night, so just ignore me if i’m out here with my laptop. and i’m sorry in advance if i ignore you, i get into a trance when i’m fixing up my blog.” with the doors securely shut behind them, lola led the way to the chairs surrounding the small glass table, pulling out her own and letting her body fall into as she took a sip of her ice tea. “so, welcome to fontaine, i’ve not said that yet.”

[lxlahq-blog]

nxahhqs

“i knew i recognised it.” noah smiled up at the painting, running his fingers over the many dips and bumps in the paint with a content sigh. he let his eyes trail over the many photos and trinkets littering the living room around him, committing it all to memory and trying to find little places his stuff could fit in without disturbing the look she already had going on. “i’ve got a couple of pieces coming in the truck later that i think you’ll really love.” noah replied as he paced into the kitchen, taking his phone and cigarettes out of his back pocket and placing them down on the counter as lola spoke. he hummed happily at the mere mention of tea, nodding his head politely as she turned to look across at him. “okay, no. ice tea is an abomination. what is it with americans and being so determined to ruin something so amazing?” he asked, voice a little too serious as he pulled his body up onto one of the stools across from her.

“you like his work? really? it’s so hard to find people who really appreciate him.” although lola knew she was nowhere near an artist, she’d always managed to surround herself with artistic people, and their influences were obvious from what was laying around the house. “you can hang up things where you think they’ll fit. i just wouldn’t put anything at thigh height, because rhiannon will grab for anything she can get her little fists around.” with a smile the woman moved to turn the kettle on, the familiar sound always making her body relax. “ice tea isn’t like tea from home though, it’s completely different — trust me.” she abandoned the kettle to open the fridge, pulling free a bottle of her home made lemon ice tea and the milk. she absentmindedly stared down at noah’s cigarettes as she poured him a glass, sliding it across the bench with a pointed stare. “i don’t mind if you smoke on the patio, there’s an ashtray on the table too. just make sure the doors closed — and forgive me if i ever steal one. i quit when i was pregnant but every now and again i give in.”

[lxlahq-blog]

nxahhqs

“is it that obvious?” noah smiled, the first genuine smile since the little girl had thrown her ball at his legs in the courtyard. the woman across from him was still a stranger, so going on a rant about why he feels the way he does about babies hardly seemed appropriate. maybe another day. he listened on quietly as she spoke, the pure love behind her voice offering a spark of inspiration he hadn’t felt in months. he stepped out of the lift with one hand still resting on rhiannon’s back, nodding his head and never letting his eyes stray from lola’s face as she led the way into what he would now call home. “jesus.” he laughed, the glass windows that covered the whole front wall of the apartment offering him reluctant hope for the year ahead. he let lola manoeuvre the baby out of his arms, his lips pursed as he watched them disappear down the hall. “alright. okay. this might not be so bad.” he mumbled to himself, pacing around the flat and promising himself he’d give living here a proper chance before writing it off. when lola returned noah’s fingertips were tracing over a painting on one of the living room walls, a small smile on his face. “i reckon you’re right. seeing a hint i colour already.”

“it’s a mum instinct thing, i can tell almost anything these days.” she eased back into the room with a laugh, watching noah take in the art on the walls. “that’s by a guy called tomo campbell, i had to bring it when i moved. i’ve never been more panicked about packing before.” the piece was one of her favourites, the pastel colours blending together perfectly to create a scene that she could see so easily flow off the canvas. “there’s another of his in rhiannon’s room, but she hardly ever sleeps in there so you can pop in whenever you want to take a look.” she moved to the apartment with ease, standing behind the kitchen bench before she spoke again. “i know it’s not very american but i’ve got a proper kettle and tea from home too, you’ve gotta tell me if it runs low though, takes forever to get my family to do a care package.” she pulled open the cupboard above her head quickly, turning back to noah with a smile on her lips. “do you want a cuppa? or a coffee if you prefer. and we’ve got a stack of ice tea in the fridge...”

[lxlahq-blog]

|| closed starter for @ofcelodie

when lola had first started recording her inner-most thoughts at sixteen, she’d never imagined that it would ever turn into something more than that. but with an instagram account that could never be silenced, brand collaborations and a blog that she adored more than any other career she could have imagined, she knew that it wasn’t coming a close anytime soon. but for all she’d done for it, she was still hesitant to meet other people who did the same as her. tucking herself into the corner of the cafe that her and elodie had decided on with the tiniest touch of anxiety, she sipped at her iced tea and scanned the room for the woman she was waiting on.

[lxlahq-blog]

oftcddys

teddy was out painting in the sun, enjoying the change in weather. she pretty much loved whatever season it currently was, but it was nice to not be so freezing. finally looking up, she heard a voice and saw what she assumed was a mother encouraging her baby. she smiled, a little jealous if she was honest. teddy adored kids, especially the little ones. recently, she’d kind of been noticing that she wouldn’t mind being a mother. the baby threw a ball, and teddy watched it fly until it smacked her in the face. “no, it’s totally okay,” she said, laughing, “she’s a cutie.”

“she’s getting quite the aim, she’ll be off playing baseball or something before i notice it happen.” with an easy laugh, lola reached across to retrieve the thrown ball, placing it back in rhiannon’s hands and drawing her attention back to the board between them. “are you sure she didn’t hurt you? they’re supposed to be helping her learn how things fit together, but i’m not sure she’s really getting that yet.” with a warm smile, the woman pointed down at the mess of blocks and balls, only a few sitting in their rightful places on the plastic board.

[lxlahq-blog]

lola cassidy — socials 03/09/18