Elliot was going on a walk with nowhere in particular in mind. He had so much free time that he often didn't know what to do with himself so he found exploring Austin to be a good way to eat of time even if he was just going around his neighborhood which he was finally getting acquainted with. He had been in the middle of changing a song on his phone when he bumped into her. He instinctively reached out to grab he arm to keep her from falling and let her go as soon as he started breaking away to grab her phone off the ground. He quickly pulled his airpods out of his ears and shoved them in his pocket. "No, it's my bad really. I was looking at my phone," he confessed. "Is your phone alright?" He asked. He'd broken screens after all sorts of drops.
she shrugged it off when he mentioned being at fault and continued dusting off her knees. "no, i was looking at my phone too. work and all that ..." she trailed off, patting her hair to make sure it wasn't messed up and brushing the stray pieces behind the plastic oxygen tubing that wrapped around her ears. "um ..." she peered at her phone. "little crack but nothing major. like i said, my fault anyways so don't feel bad." she shrugged. looking back at him she couldn't help but wonder where she recognized him from. "i feel like i've seen you somewhere before? sorry, you look crazy familiar." she paused before giving a friendly smile. "nadine, by the way."
embarrassment burns in his chest at having been caught red-handed, but adrian rolls his shoulders back and keeps his head held high as if he's never done anything wrong in his life. instead of apologizing or even just addressing the situation at hand, he replies with a firm "there's no need", though it's evident in the way he picks up his pace that he can't get out of there fast enough. water drips onto the floor from his soaked clothes, and his plastic bag is starting to feel a lot heavier than when he first came into the laundromat. soon, adrian relents with a sigh, "okay, fine. if that's what you want." he adds, if only to emphasize that she's choosing, out of her own free will, to pay for his dry cycle.
she turns her head slowly to the side, somewhat perplexed by the other's response. not that she necessarily wanted him to get on his knees and beg forgiveness or anything, but a simple "sorry" might suffice. her eyes grew a bit wider when he actually accepted her offer, most of the time people wouldn't let nadine lift a finger for them, so in a way she was a little amused. he did seem like a bit of a dickhead, but. now was not the time to argue. she was quiet for a moment, but then it felt awkward standing next to the stranger in silence with only the low hum of her tank between the two. "alright," she shrugged, chuckling softly. "here?" she tapped on the outside of a dryer next to them with her knuckles, the other hand ready to fish into her purse for the necessary coins.
being a junior journalist might not be the most lucrative or fancy job out there, but one benefit was that nadine had flexibility to work from home when she could. on paper it sounded great considering her situation, but, well, it didn't do her many favors when it came to meeting people. plus, more often than not she found herself cooped up too much for her liking, so on pretty days like today, she liked to take a walk to clear her mind. still, she had to at least keep her eye on some work things - so she was looking at the latest email on her phone as she walked along the street outside of her apartment when she was hit with another's force, sending her phone toppling out of her hands and onto the ground. "oh shit, i'm so sorry," she ducked her head and crouched to the ground to pick up her phone, not even waiting to meet the other's eyes. she stood, dusting herself off and finally looking to see who it was she collided into. "that's my -" she started before turning her head to the side. he looked familiar ...? friend of her brother's? no, it was something else. "bad. my bad."
starter for: open ! @atxstarters (0/4)
location: a laundromat near downtown austin
adrian can't justify how he's able to spend $30 on takeaway pizza no problem, but gets immediately triggered at the thought of paying $3 to wash a couple of old shirts. there's no science behind it - it just is, and he's going to do what he usually does; wait until no one's looking and throw his dirty clothes into a washer that's already running.
at the 30-minute mark, he figures his clothes must be clean by now, and gets to work unloading his stuff when he suddenly feels a presence practically breathing down his neck. "can i help you ??", he asks, voice a bit annoyed, as if he's not mid-pulling his soggy clothes out of a machine that he clearly didn't pay for.
nadine wasn't usually found in the laundromat. matter of fact, her parents had specifically asked her older brother to take care of laundry for her as a condition of them helping him out with rent - but, he fell short every now and again, and besides, she was a whole ass adult, she didn't need him nearly as much as they thought. all she had to do today was a shirt and some pants for her meeting tomorrow.
"yeah ..." she trailed off when the other turned around to meet her, eyes wide as she leaned over to look at what he was pulling out of the laundry machine. there better not be any underwear in there. yuck. " no offense, but i'd rather not have your stuff mixing in with mine." she might be a germaphobe but there was at least good reason to it. still, maybe the other couldn't afford it, so she felt a little bad. "i'll pay for your dry cycle," she shrugged, looking up to meet the other's eyes.
｡ [ olivia cooke . cisfemale . she/her ] - nadine lacey was blasting i’m your wreck by mt. joy on the sidewalk in austin today . according to other residents of garden views , the 26 year old journalist has been given a reputation of being pessimistic , but also affectionate . [ the dazed feeling you get after waking up from a long nap, endless scrolling through photos and texts from the past in search of nostalgia, a poorly organized pill cabinet ] + [ cake , 25 , she/her , est ]
stats
full name: nadine margaret lacey
birthday: april 11, 1998
astrological sign: aries
occupation: journalist
hometown: cambridge, ma
sexuality: heterosexual
height: 5'0"
hair: long and mousy brown, with thick bangs - if she isn't wearing it down, it's usually in a bun or braids
tattoos: none
scars: many, most noticeable ones are the one on the left side of her chest and a long scar that runs sideways along her stomach
the story so far
tw: chronic illness, drug use
nadine was born into a seemingly typical upper-middle class family in cambridge massachusetts. her father worked as a lawyer and her mother as a professor of psychology at harvard. she was the first girl in a family that already had three young boys, so her mother was absolutely delighted when she found out she was finally getting the daughter she always wanted. however, that excitement was cut short soon after her birth when she was quickly diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. her parents were understandably devastated, and from then on nadine became the complete center of attention of her parents, her mother quitting her job to focus on raising her daughter.
despite the initial shock, nadine seemed to be a rather typical child and had a relatively normal childhood and adolescence. she was even able to do sports such as soccer and track in her youth, and while she was never the best at it, she wasn't the worst either. she fit in pretty nicely at her school and most people didn't even know she was ill, in fact she rarely ever felt ill as well. where she really found her footing was onstage. she loved to perform and thrived under all the attention - perhaps because she was the center of attention in her family. she enjoyed singing as well and found herself a regular and most often the lead in most school performances. because of this, she decided to major in theatre (with a minor in writing, to satisfy her parents' concerns) and study at ucla.
while in college, nadine at first appeared to be living the type of life you could dream of - she was loving the warm weather, making friends, partying, and getting to party and live wild like a normal young adult. of course she had never felt all that different, but under the watchful eyes of her parents at home, she was always reminded of it and dissuaded from doing anything too risky. so for the first year, she drank, she partied, she did everything she ever wanted to because why not? and while none of it brought her any harm, one thing did - her skimping out on treatments. her illness had always taken a ridiculous amount of time and energy to manage with upwards of two hours of breathing treatments every single day, and having to manage classes, living independently, and a social life all on top of that proved to be difficult. she noticed herself feeling more out of breath and under the weather quickly, and during her junior year she fell ill like she never had her entire life, with a serious infection that threatened to take her life and landed her in the hospital for nearly six months. while she was eventually able to recover, things would never be the same for nadine - she suffered serious damage to her lungs and now relied on oxygen and constant hospital visits to maintain her health as best as possible. she was eventually able to finish her degree with the support of her parents and family, but her dreams of performing on broadway were put to rest, locked in a box she'd likely never be able to open.
during nadine's first years at college, her parents had relocated to austin, texas, with one of her older brothers (who was fighting an entirely different illness of his own - addicition) following them. she decided to move into her brother's apartment in texas after school because she wanted to be close to them and because, simply, her illness was becoming too difficult to manage on her own. she was able to land a job as a journalist, which her family was all supportive of as a good fit for her, but it simply isn't her passion and she longs for the person she used to be. she's somewhat embarrassed that she relies on her family so much, especially with them needing to help her and her older brother out with rent sometimes, but she feels stuck and doesn't know a way out of it. and while she's glad to still be with her family, she's homesick for massachusetts and misses all of her friends from her youth, finding it difficult to meet new people with her current situation. mostly, she's looking for belonging here.
personality
overall, nadine is a pretty benevolent person, but she can be somewhat aloof to other's struggles because her entire life, everyone has been focused on her. she doesn't know what it feels like to worry about your future because she's never had to, she doesn't understand the struggles of parenting, missing rent, getting fired, all of the everyday concerns most people face because she's always had her family to fall back on. moreover, she can be pessimistic at times because she's frustrated with all that she's missed out on and the fact that it doesn't seem like there's anything grand she has to look forward to. while she really enjoyed attention and being in the spotlight in her youth, she's much more reserved now, which is a strange feeling for her. despite not always fully understanding others, she has a desire to and is very compassionate. she can be super nosy at times though and sometimes could use a reminder that she's not entitled to everyone else's business. she's usually pretty blunt and doesn't usually have an issue stating her opinion when it comes to something she feels strongly on. and she's not all that innocent - though, she might sneakily let you believe she is because she's constantly stereotyped that way, she's not above using her illness to her advantage - gotta play the hands you're dealt, right???
wanted connections
her older brother: this is a big one! she has three older brothers, but i'm specificially looking for the one she lives with in austin, though if you have an idea for another one i could be open to that. her older brother she lives with has dealt with substance abuse issues in the past and has somewhat of a resentment towards his sister for constantly stealing all of the attention throughout their childhoods, which left him struggling on his own for most of his life. their reasoning for living together is that their parents wanted them close by and they sometimes help out with his rent, under the assumption that he can help nadine when she needs it, which he has ... mixed feelings on. everything else is completely utp!!!
her ex boyfriend: when nadine was in high school, she had a steady boyfriend who she spent a lot of time with, but they broke up before college as they were both going to entirely different places. most everything about this is utp but i'd like for them to have ended on good terms and plots could be about reconnecting and exploring the changes they've both gone through since high school.
coworkers: someone who nadine works with and perhaps socializes with (she's new to atx, so she doesn't know a lot of people!)
unlikely friends: one of my favorite plots tbh. someone who on paper you wouldn't picture with nadine, perhaps someone from a rougher background who is a bit more stoic, but they complement one another as friends and this person is able to open up nadine's perspective to other people's realities and they're both able to bring out a bit of one another in the other.
party friends: someone who is able to open up nadine's wild side!! she needs to get out more fr
i'm ofc open to romantic plots as well but i would love to see how they interact first and decide how we want to go about that as it goes along :)))) hehe
