black spring rising

A savage desire for strong emotions and sensations burns inside me: a rage against this soft-tinted, shallow, standardized and sterilized life.

[ofbrokenbonesx]

Amelia wasn’t exactly surprised to see Nicole here, but a small jolt of unease curled down her spine regardless. There was a certain anonymity of coming to an Ellsworth party, mostly because it was the last place anyone expected her to be, and she enjoyed it that way. Being caught by Nicole effectively ruined that. Nevertheless, she smiled at her teammate; perhaps it was the beer she’d already finished, but she was in a perfectly content mood, and so long as Nicole didn’t ruin that, she was more than welcome to join.

"Nice outfit," she said, her voice tinted with amusement, as she indicated the other’s volleyball attire. Her attention shifted for a moment as she settled on making herself a rum and coke that was more coke than rum, before turning back to Nicole. Her own outfit felt surprisingly plain now, considering she’d just opted to wear her school uniform because, well, it fit the bill, and she really had no intention to play up the ‘sexy schoolgirl’ trope.

Sipping at her drink and drawing away from the fountain, she shrugged at the other’s question. “The night hasn’t been awful,” she conceded, although the easiness and warmth of her tone said otherwise. “It’s certainly better than I was expecting. But what about you?” Her eyebrows rose in polite interest, head tilting to the side. “Anything exciting happen or is the action yet to come?”

[nicogettinger]

The dimpled grin came easy, and so did the laugh that accompanied it; Nicole's socializing skills out and about for the evening. "You too," she said, giving a nod to Amelia's regular school uniform. "I feel like we might just be the odd ones out," she said, shrugging and laughing a little more as she observed the rest of the party-goers - large congregations of thigh-high white stockings and short skirts, not that she didn't appreciate the view. 

Trailing after Amelia, she noticed that the almost overly polite way of being was still there. It was practically the other girl's trademark - all friendly but not too friendly smiles, a polite interest (which was much like Nicole's own) that was as detached as it could be without being rude. It was a little like Amelia existed in a bubble of her own creation, though maybe Nico was just biased - after all, they were practically strangers, or at the least not more than acquaintances. 

A moment's beat went and came as Nicole contemplated what could make the middle Beresford leave that bubble; what would make her tick, and then the accidental queen of Kingston responded.

"Nothing exciting's happened," she said, "yet." Her smile was as mischievous as it could be, and then she buried it behind a sip of her drink, wondering idly if Amelia's rum 'n' coke would taste better. "If I can find my usual cohorts, I'm sure we'll manage stirring up something." It felt a little strange, talking to Amelia Beresford about mischief at parties - three words that made perfect sense separately but not so much together, at least not to Nico - but the impulse was there: she'd make her company leave the bubble, and what better way than to open up a little? The challenge was there, all decked out before her, and all she had to do was accept. Another bitter sip, and Nico licked her lips. "How's your rum 'n coke? I feel like going for vodka was a mistake. A mistake I'll drink, but still. The wisdom won't leave me any time soon. If it does, please remind to not go half-and-half with it again."

[hannahmontgom-blog]

To be fair, he butted his head into the conversation. It was completely his fault. I know right? I gotta stop or I’ll get a reputation. Well, I just started college. For all I know, it’s just as bad and I’ll be that poor freshman all over again.

[nicogettinger]

Hey! Nowhere to go but up. Or at least that's what I'm hoping.

[ofbrokenbonesx]

It wasn’t often that the middle Beresford went to parties, especially ones thrown at the lower dormitories. She was someone who oscillated between following the rules because she enjoyed to do so and following the rules because she feared what would happen if she didn’t. However, every so often, a streak of rebellion rose within her, and she did things like get a naval piercing in a seedy tattoo parlor in the South of France or, as she was doing now, sipping at a beer in the midst of an Ellsworth party. Yet another plus of her chosen form of rebellion was that Marcus would never show his face at one of these affairs, and thus, she’d be spared the lecture. Feeling pleasantly warm and content, she finished off her drink, making her way towards the soda fountain for another.

"Excuse me," Amelia said politely to the figure standing in front of her, trying to maneuver around them.

[nicogettinger]

"Oh," Nicole responded, feeling a flicker of recognition flare in the back of her mind as she turned around and took half a step to the side to give the other person room. She'd just filled her solo cup with vodka, and now it was time to add the cola. Her brain had been right - it was Amelia Beresford politely intruding, and Nico flashed her a bright smile before pushing her cup against the tap; soda mixing with vodka. "Sorry."

She'd gone for the school club costume - her usual volleyball shorts and top, though she'd opted for a regular bra instead of a sports one, and she was wearing makeup, which she always left off while on the court. Her hair wasn't even up, which in retrospect felt kind of stupid, but she'd deal. It was meant to be a costume, after all, not something that was too close to reality.

"You having a good time?" The last person she would have expected to find at the Ellsworth party was Amelia, but Nicole knew better than to say that out loud. Instead, she went for making polite conversation; sipping her vodka-coke and ignoring the slightly bitter taste of it. It needed more soda.

[hannahmontgom-blog]

That must be nice. I’m from the city, so this is all pretty usual. Thank you!

Yeah, I made some freshman wish he was a senior the other day when I started complaining about how much I hated high school.

[nicogettinger]

Terrorizing the freshmen already? God, Hannah, you're a menace. That said, I can't deny my agreeing. I'm ready to be done with it, more or less. High school gets kinda boring after a while.

[nicogettinger]

telegraph ave. ♛ nicole & nate

[natewayland]

Exhaling away from her, Nate handed Nicole the joint without much fuss, watching her inhale deeply. He could already feel the weed going straight to his head, and because of that, he didn’t snatch the joint back right away, instead letting the sensation of lightness spread outwards until it reached his toes and his fingertips.

"You should go to more than the occasional party,” he said solemnly. “What’s Heathfield for, if not mass hedonism and underage drug use?” He was kidding — but only slightly. Whenever they were in California, be it in her city or in his, they always managed to have a good time, roaming the outdoors by day and partying by night. It would, honestly, be nice to have Nicole back at his side at Heathfield; as much as he loved his Ellsworth boys, it was always nice to spend time with someone different, someone who didn’t care about the social politics of the school and who detested the campus’ ‘royalty’ as much as him.

"Oh. Yeah. That." He took the joint back, taking two long, slow hits in a row. "I don’t know what possessed me to bid on Cassandra. She’s just going to be a giant bitch to me the entire time," he muttered, fanning the smoke away from them and towards the open window. "Lorraine should be fun, though. Maybe. I dunno. I wanted to get Levi." A small laugh bubbled from his lips, and he glanced down at his jeans in amusement. "Is it that obvious they’re not mine?" he said, lips twisted in a lopsided smile as laughter continued to vibrate through his chest. "Shit, it totally is. But," he added primly, head held loftily as he handed the joint back to her, "at least my ass looks damn good.”

[nicogettinger]

"I'd hope it'd be a little about studying, too," Nicole shot back, grin wide and dimpled. For all her partying and vices, she was a serious student - and it showed in her grades and club activities; the girl an impressive contender in all. The entire point was to excel, as far as she was concerned: aiming for the top to see if she could get there.

She watched as he fanned the smoke away, white-fading-to-grey tendrils flying gracefully towards the window. "I don't think either of us knows what made you bid on Cassandra." Her shrug and sigh were teasing but sympathetic, the smile playing on her lips understated and soft. Despite his mention of Lorraine - who had been as much a Kingston girl as she had been a friend to Nicole before - the brunette's features didn't give way to anything negative. "Levi would've been a better option than van der Brandt for sure, but life's full of trials and tribulations, as they say." Another shrug-and-smile. "And yep, it's that obvious. But you're totally right about your ass looking good." Grabby-hands yet again, and the blunt was hers once more; Nico letting out a stream of wispy, ashen grey through her nostrils.

"Maybe you should wear those jeans to your date with Cassandra. Show her a whole new world." Just the thought of it was enough to make Nicole laugh a little, her chest shaking with it as she held the blunt out for Nate to have it again; her laughter a little dry already. "Remember to take pictures! Of her face! That'd be the most important thing; visual representation of her reaction."

[hellraisingstclair]

Fanta? How come Fanta? Do I look like I came off Jersey Shore or somethin’?

Like I said, no worries! That’s my girl, always avoiding Cultural Appropriation! Even though I did sport dreads to school for a week last year… My hairdresser wasn’t thrilled about that, might I add. 

[nicogettinger]

First 'blonde' soda I could think of.

But dreads? Oh, Piper. I guess you at least won't do it again.

[hannahmontgom-blog]

But not that soon, Nicole. You know it’s been disgustingly hot up here. Hmmmm, it’s a talent of mine. And yes, I consider it a talent.

[nicogettinger]

I'm a Cali girl, so-- warmth isn't really an issue. And it's definitely a talent!

You make anyone else feel wistful lately?

[hannahmontgom-blog]

It’s supposed to be getting cold soon. Where the fuck is it? I need the fall. I feel like I’m going to melt if I even wear jeans.

[nicogettinger]

It'll be here soon enough, I figure. Or.. Hope. You've made me wistful in the span of seconds, Monty.

[nicogettinger]

Licking her lips as she sat up, Nicole quickly wiped at her cheek with her right thumb, licking that too once the worst of the drink was gone from her face. "You couldn't have made less of mess of that, could you?" she said, laughing at her partner-in-crime.

The party was shaping up to be fun, though she'd yet to have a dip in the pool. That would come later, after she'd had the time to properly scope out who was actually present. Word on the street (and in the text message she'd received that had invited her to it) was that the party was 'exclusive', so she'd been clever and avoided blabbering about it, because a guest list was a guest list, unless she was the one crashing the party. Of course, she missed a few of her friends who weren't present, but her favorite Kingston girls were there, and who needed more company than that?

[levi-scanlon]

✺

The window was thrown wide and Levi was leaning on the sill, elbows digging harshly into the concrete as he stared out into the night. For all of its bad qualities - the beds, first and foremost - that Ellsworth had, the view wasn’t that terrible. Bringing the joint to his lips, Levi took a deep drag, exhaling slowly just as there was a knock on the door. He turned to look at the closed door lethargically, contemplating whether or not to answer it; he was sure that it wouldn’t be anyone coming to complain about the smoke, since that wasn’t exactly anything new. It was probably a friend, looking for Levi and expecting him to be in a jovial mood, ready to paint the city with his laughter — but Levi felt anything but. Sometimes — and they didn’t happen often — he would find himself sinking into melancholy moods that no drug could haul him out of, and he needed to be alone, shunning even Jeremy’s or Nate’s company. There was another, more insistent knock, and Levi groaned, stubbing the joint out in the overflowing ashtray before sauntering over to the door, arranging his features into one of annoyed indifference as he opened the door. He was met with a smaller girl - dark eyes, dark hair - and he sighed audibly; he was not in the mood to be shoved face first into Nicole Gettinger’s amazing life and amazing connection with Nate and how amazing their sex was {which Levi just assumed they were having}. “What,” he snapped, not even phrasing it as a question and not even bothering with the nicety that he would sometimes use when Nate was around. He had no time in his day for Nicole unless Nate’s happiness was on the line.

"Have you seen Nate?" she asked after a beat, seemingly a little put out by his abruptness, and Levi felt his insides tighten — of course that’s why she was here: once more trying to prove a point that Nate was hers, not his, and she was looking for him.

The joke was clearly on her: if she assumed Nate was there, then he’d rather be with Levi than with her. “Who’s asking?” he intoned, sounding bored, not wanting to admit that Nate wasn’t there, mostly because he liked being a selfish prick and getting one up on Nicole. It wasn’t nice, and it didn’t make him feel good, but it did give him a disgusting rush of satisfaction by proving that Nate wasn’t hers — but at the same time, Nate wasn’t his.

"Uh — Nicole?" she said, looking and sounding confused, though a frown was pulling at her face and a crease between her eyebrows that said she was a little annoyed. "Is he here?"

Levi pushed open his door, leaning against the wall. “Just me tonight. I’m sure Nate’s out somewhere having a grand old time,” he drawled, glancing away from Nicole at the thought of it, and he had to wonder if both he and Nicole had been ditched, then they might have something in common after all. “Did you try the studio?” he asked mildly, and Nicole shook her head. “You should, he sometimes loses track of time and works til late,” Levi said, though he knew for a fact that Nate wouldn’t be at the studio, and he started to get a kick of adrenaline through him: the chase was on. “Well, I need to get back to doing nothing before I was interrupted, so.”

"Right," said Nicole, dragging out the word, before forcing a smile onto her face. "Thanks, Levi. Seeya," and she bounced off in a flurry of perfume and beautiful curls that Levi would never have, and he scowled at her retreating form before ducking back into his room, grabbing his weed and his jacket, and closed the door to his room. He took the staircase up to the roof, his heart hammering as he felt the competitive streak within him rise up — it was a race to find Nate first, and as Levi pushed the door to the roof open and saw a head over the top of their couch, he knew that he’d won — this time.

[nicogettinger]

toil and trouble ♛ nicole & oliver

[oliverbeauregard-blog-deactivat]

Alright, so Oliver hated the library. In fact, he typically made it a point to avoid the building at all costs unless some necessity forced him to be there, which was why his current presence was such an aberration. Generally he kept to the Arkwright study rooms when he wanted to get work done, but now that he’d made the decision to avoid Arkwright as much as possible for a few days, just so he had time to get his head on straight (ha), he wasn’t left with much choice. Thankfully, he’d nabbed Nico Gettinger’s usual spot before she arrived, and he had to admit, she’d picked the best seat in the house; perfect for spying and eavesdropping without being too obvious. Perhaps he had something of a protégé.

He tapped his pen lazily against the side of the table, enough space between him and the nearest people that the noise wouldn’t irritate anyone, and he was about to take a noisy bite of his apple when Nico herself appeared in front of him, blocking most of his view. “I’m amazed you thought you’d find me here,” he said callously, bringing the apple to his mouth and digging his teeth into it. Delicious. “But good on you, I guess,” he added once he’d finished chewing. “I was trying to study, except it turned into people watching, because I haven’t done a goddamn thing. Does this happen to you here, too?” He eyed her closely as she set her bag down on the table, then shrugged; it was her spot, after all, he just a visitor. “Since you’re an even bigger distraction, why don’t you tell me why you were looking for me, Gettinger. What can I do for you?” He leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head with a cavalier manner.

[nicogettinger]

"Nothing in particular, really," Nico replied, dragging a chair out and sitting down. "Just a phrase." It really hadn't been anything. She just hadn't seen him in a while - and finding him in her own designated library spot had been a bit of a surprise, if she was honest. "Just hadn't seen you in a while. If anything, play a game of catch-up with me - I'll start by explaining how I'm always here for people-watching, except I'm really good at multitasking, too," the brunette said, pouting at his expense before the expression widened into a teasing grin. Her bag - which contained her books and an array of pens - was subsequently moved from the table to rest by her feet, just as she felt a certain thrum of being uncomfortable with her back to the rest of the library. She was a creature of habit as much as the rest of them, and sitting at her spot but not in her seat felt inherently wrong, though she was mature enough to grit her teeth and bear it without a mention of it to Oliver.

"So. What've you been up to, Beauregard, besides people-watching and blatant neglect of homework? Heard you got two dates from the auction."

[ethanxkingsley-blog]

✺

"Ms. Gettinger?" Spencer murmured, leaning against his doorframe, not shutting the door in her face but not exactly letting her in yet either. His room wasn’t a free-for-all, but the headstrong Kingston girl with the Blackbourne pedigree had some admirable traits, enough to warrant his ear for a moment. And… it wasn’t like he was a stranger to Kingston girls. "What can I help you with?"

{ nicogettinger }

[enzoricciardi]

Upon first display of interest towards her work, Cecilia shifted from almost awkwardly shy to professionally confident, a quirk she’d picked up from both her mother and her older-sister-role Cassandra. Every conversation was a business deal and she was to convince people of importance of her ideas so later when she’s successful people would be lining up for alliances with her. Interest equaled money and with the empire of Salvadore’s falling apart, she had to assure her own would one day be stable enough to save their reputation. Quick to adjust herself so the camera’s display would be turned to Nicole, she opened the folder holding the taken shots and presented her with the first picture.

She’d captured the moment when Nicole had taken her first dive in, her hands one hundred and forty degrees apart from her body making a divine scenery of her posture resembling the airplane’s one. The camera’s zoom had managed to capture both the blues of the pool’s water and the white lines caused by the disturbance Nicole’s strokes had marked the surface with. The observer would have hard time telling whether the diver was deep in the waters or if they were simply lingering an inch below the surface and in all its simplicity, it gave of quite a mystical vibe. 

"It’s a confession of one murderer - fictional though. He’d been killing his victims with water in every of its aggregate states and therefore managed to mask his tracks. It’s called ‘The Memory of Water’. The book ends with him going for his last target, whose identity we aren’t told, but the readers get the influence that it’s one of the important female figures in his life that we’ve gotten to know throughout the story. It kind of has the Inception vibe and ending where you’re dying to figure out who he’s after and why, but you don’t get a full closure. My dad’s trying to buy the rights to make it into a movie so I’m just joining the family business, trying to get involved as well."

[nicogettinger]

The quick turn in Cecilia's behavior was both as unnerving as it was reassuring; Nicole glad the other girl wasn't as painfully shy and nervous as she'd seemed at first. With a gleam of interest in her eyes, the Kingston resident first looked at the pictures Cecilia showed her - careful to remain a graceful distance from the camera so she wouldn't accidentally get it or its owner wet - and then directed her interest to the photographer; listening intently as she spoke. "It sounds really interesting," Nico responded once Cecilia was done explaining. "If kind of frustrating, what with the whole cliffhanger at the end." 

Getting involved in the family business - it wasn't a foreign concept to Nicole.

"Joining the family business, huh. Sounds like a pretty decent plan. Your dad's Agostini, right?" It wasn't an entirely foreign name to Nicole's ears. Her own father, after all, was Elliot Gettinger, and having had both feet in the business for as long as she could remember, Vincenzo Agostini was a name that had popped up on occasion, both thanks to the man's success as a director and Nicole's own interest in movies, cultivated by her parents.

[elliot-leviste-deactivated20141]

            “Well, we better enjoy ourselves before god smites us for being proper heathens. Cut class with me. Let’s go to Chinatown. I want to eat someplace dirty and dingy where I have to buy new pants after.”

[nicogettinger]

"Hmm.. Deal. Let me dispose of my bag first, though."

[oliverbeauregard-blog-deactivat]

✺

"Nico, you better not be here to light anything on fire," he warned, eyeing her warily more as a joke than anything else. She was his favorite Kingston girl, after all, and he already knew her actual reason for coming, anyway. “So what’ll it be? Scotch or tequila?”

( nicogettinger )

[hellraisingstclair]

Oh, Cola! You could never, ever, ever be anything near shit!

I feel like that’s the price it comes with, I mean hell, since I started taking the class, I’ve been craving Starbucks more and more. But then, I completely agree, you would rock them. And don’t worry if you start blabbering on and on about Coachella, I’ll put you out of your misery!

[nicogettinger]

You couldn't either, Fanta.

I'm very relieved to hear you'll put me out of my misery if I ever go that far. That said, I do enjoy me some Coachella, but- I avoid the Native American headdresses and whatnot.

[polititties]

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