all i do is try, try, try

dependent multimuse blog for corneliafm. caroline davis. veronica petrov. sydney moore.

[oflostdrcams]

I want you to know I'm a mirrorball. I'll show you every version of yourself tonight.

Caroline Davis ★ Intro ★ Connections

Sydney Moore ☀ Intro ☀ Connections

Veronica Petrov ☁ Intro ☁ Connections

I'll get you out on the floor, shimmering beautiful, and when I break, it's in a million pieces.

[rollercoasterush]

"thank you! i'm really proud of this one. i absolutely loved filming it. if they called me for a sequel, i would sign in a second." she told the girl. veronica was always one of her biggest cheerleaders and she hoped her friend felt the same thing from her. "i'm trying to stay in the city for a while. i've been travelling so much for filming, i want to stay home for a while."

"oh portugal sounds fun! i've never been there but i've heard it's beautiful." carter had travelled to some amazing places and she was always looking for her next adventure, adding more and more places on her travel bucket list. "do you have any plans on what you're going to do while you're there yet?"

[oflostdrcams]

"Has anyone hinted towards a possible sequel or are they still waiting to see how it does?" She didn't know too much about how the movie industry worked, but she liked being able to find out little bits and pieces from her friend. "I get it. Traveling is nice, but there's nothing like getting to sleep in your own bed." Plus traveling to multiple different places for press was definitely different than going to one stop and taking time to enjoy yourself in between the smaller work things.

Veronica held her hands out still as the woman worked on her nails. "I haven't been yet either! It just always seemed like one of those places you need to get to." She'd planned as much out as possible, so now it was just a matter of figuring out the dates and getting the confirmations. "There are a few stops I want to check out! There are a couple castles that seem like fun tours. That sounds a little silly, but I kinda want to go as high up as I can in one and just live out my Princess dreams."

[untakenroadss]

jo raised a single eyebrow and reached for one of the glasses, smirking to herself. "it looks like something i'd display in my house." she glanced furtively left and then right. "what would happen if you forgot to take it back?" she traced the rim of the glass absentmindedly. it'd go great in her kitchen. she nodded along, carefully watching the group of of the corner of her eye and watching the clock over the bar. she'd give in seven minutes. seven was a lucky number, after all. "jo. you've probably seen me around." this place was practically her most well traveled hangout spot. she felt like she could be herself here, and after years of not feeling that way, she'd spend free time here all the time, even if she wasn't looking to get laid. it was just...nice, atmospherically. plus the employees were nice. she accepted the glass and gave a mock toast. "nice to meet you, syd. what about you? i'm a great wingman."

[oflostdrcams]

"We would be down a glass and it wouldn't be the first time someone swiped something," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders. While she was good at her job, she wasn't the type of person to take things too far. The owners of the club wouldn't suffer over a couple random glasses going missing considering they lost them often due to drunk people either grabbing them or breaking them. Sydney nodded when the woman mentioned seeing her around. She did notice the patrons who came in regularly. There was a distinct difference between the locals and the tourists. "I've noticed," she commented with a knowing grin. As the conversation seemed to turn around on her, she instinctively reached for a dish towel to wipe things down. Even though nothing in front of her needed to be cleaned up. "I'm good, don't worry." Technically, she did have a personal rule to not pick people up while she was working, so it wasn't like she didn't have a good excuse. "Thought we were on the mission of your love story. Potluck Friendsgivings and soccer games."

[backtotheo]

"i always make time for my fans," theo said seriously, eyes flicking up from his phone for a second before he glanced downward again. he snorted as he responded to the band's group chat and then pocketed his phone. "i think we're probably four star material right now. why not just hit up the diner? or i could go for dessert, actually..." he was craving chocolate croissants right about now. their apartment's grocery pickings were slim because he and his roommate had both been so busy, so just about everything sounded good to him right now. "oh, or movie theater popcorn..." maybe they'd have to make a couple of stops.

[oflostdrcams]

She dramatically put a hand over her heart. "You're so sweet. So giving," she commented before pretending to wipe a stray tear from her eye. The washing machine behind her let out a buzz to signal that the load was finished so she forced herself up in order to switch things over. "You're going in so many different directions right now. I'm not mad about it, but we'd need a plan." Sydney got her laundry swapped to the dryer and easily got things going again. "We get the popcorn from the movies on 6th, pizza from that little spot on Bleeker." As she worked through it in her head, she confirmed the ideas with Theo. "Gotta get those cookies and cream cupcakes from that one place on west 4th. What else do we need?"

[backtotheo]

theo pursed his lips mid-chew. he considered her request while he took a long swig of coffee. when he set the mug down again, he exhaled a sigh. "consider it a raincheck." he could let it go. for now. but that didn't mean he wasn't going to ask again at a later date. he still wanted to know. but he also didn't want to make it awkward, not when they'd just started talking again.

he turned his attention back to his meal. "uh, yeah. it's a fruit." he brandished a forkful of blueberry pancake at her and leaned it towards her. he'd kind of wanted her to eat it right off of his fork, but theo nodded sagely. "i am, actually. you should probably get some milk with it. get that vitamin d." he said this all with a perfectly straight face as he drank the rest of his coffee and waved the waitress over to ask for a refill...and a large glass of milk.

[oflostdrcams]

She truthfully didn't know what he was going to say. Part of her could see him accepting her request, softening to the obvious emotion written on her face and behind the words that used to happen often. But the other part knew he could press more. Knew that with the two of them, it was typically a back and forth until one of them either gave in to benefit the other or cracked and spit whatever it was out. "Thank you," she said softly. A raincheck she could work with. It meant that eventually, if he brought it up again, she could find another way to dance around it.

The way he reacted brought a smile to her face. He was completely unfazed by her sarcasm and questioning. Caroline made a big show of leaning in to accept the bite he now offered to her. It hadn't crossed her mind to do anything but let him feed it to her. Even if she knew the friendlier, more platonic route would have been to take the fork herself. As she chewed, she pretended to be thinking about it. "I'm still standing by my opinion that cooked blueberries leave a lot to be desired." She'd been bringing her glass to her lips when he mentioned the milk, causing her to pause for a second before continuing as if he hadn't said anything. "I hope you know you're drinking that," she finally added in once he had put in the new drink order. "Milk doesn't deserve to be on its own. It needs something with it! Cereal, cookies, chocolate flavoring. Anything to make it acceptable!"

[papcr-rlngs]

"Well you know where to find us whenever you want one of those. We also have a case of grab and go bouquets if anything there ever catches your eye." He motioned to the case by the front door, always stocked to the brim with ready-made arrangements for ease of their customers. "Thank you. It's been a lot of love and labor getting this place to be what it is today, but I don't think I'd change it for the world." It was his and Gabriel's child in a way, and he was so proud of what they had built together.

"Figured it out as I went. I wanted until we were a bit more established and he was comfortable running the shop before I started taking night classes after work hours to get a business degree to learn that side of things. It really helped to stream-line how we were run and helped us to keep in business even when things get a little rough." He shrugged. This little shop was such an example of love and his bond with his husband. It was cliché to think about, their love growing and blooming as their flower shop grew and bloomed, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

[oflostdrcams]

At the mention of their grab and go section, she turned to look at the case by the door. "That's actually a really smart idea," she told him as she turned back. "A lot of people just want a pretty bouquet without having to figure out the details." She'd definitely take advantage of that sometime soon. Most of the time, she grabbed random flowers from the small carts on the streets, but she knew getting them from an actual shop was the smarter way to go. "Just from talking to you, you can tell that it means a lot and you actually care about the business. I think it's amazing."

Caroline nodded along while Matias told her about attending classes. As they talked, she couldn't help but be impressed with the commitment and care that seemed to go into Betty's Garden. "Damn, you went to school specifically to help the business? Now it makes a lot more sense as to why you guys have been doing this for so long." It was nice getting to talk to someone about something they had true love and passion for. "Your husband's incredibly lucky to have you," she told him. "Not a lot of people would go above and beyond like that."

[glitchedgoalie]

"i'm the talent," ty said, crunching down on a pretzel and letting his gaze drift back to the tv, where marc-andre fleury was making a fashy save while spinning over entirely. his lips twitched. he'd always modeled his game after the flower, a little bit. "it's my job to look pretty." his shoulders lifted. it was still a little bit weird to think of himself that way. sure, they'd had a social media manager in the ahl, but that'd mostly been warmup shots and tiny mic questions. he was still trying to gain his footing with all this attention on him. he wasn't sure he liked it. he wasn't sure he hated it, either. it was just different.

"chinese is good," he said with a nod. "but we need to double what we ordered last time. i had to grab pizza on the way back last time." probably not approved by his nutritionist, but he burned a ton of calories each game. plus, nyc pizza? it was the best. he didn't care what his old teammates in chicago said. once the screen changed to a commercial, he handed the remote over. "we can't watch saw while we eat. but anything else is fair game."

[oflostdrcams]

His response was met with a roll of her eyes. "Must be hard being you. Having to just stand there all day with cute ass animals," she commented playfully. On normal days, she knew him and the rest of the team worked their asses off, but they weren't talking about that right now. Her head tilted to the side just slightly as she pretended to study his face. "You know what? You're, like, really good at your job. A natural, I'd say." The job to look pretty, that is. Her tone was light; simple. She'd always been a little bit harder as a person. Less likely to toss out random compliments. Always ready to size up the next competition. Never fully allowing herself to soften in case the person decided to run. But after months of spending her time with him, she had started to defrost. It was only tremendously terrifying.

"Why didn't you tell me you were still hungry," she asked with a laugh. "I probably had leftovers or something random in the kitchen." She couldn't remember the situation at all. This time, while she would order more than the last, she was also making a mental note to make sure he seemed content afterwards. "You can keep this on," she offered when he handed her the remote. "I highly doubt there's anything better on right now so you might as well soak up all of the extra time until it's Jigsaw time." she swapped the remote for her phone so that she could pull up the number for her usual Chinese restaurant to place their order for delivery.

[h3lled]

who  :  lola  +  open  (  @corneliastarters )  where  :  best  dress  (  high  fashion  boutique  )

“ ooh  ,  that  is  so  not  your  color. ”  words  fly  into  the  air  like  a  full  on  rainstorm  ,  sweeping  over  new  york  without  a  single  drop  of  warning.  she  can’t  stop  it  anymore  than  she  can  stand  in  horror  that  inner  monologue  has  been  left  to  drop  upon  stranger’s  ears.  “ sorry—  unsolicited  advice  is  almost  as  bad  as  a  dick  pic. ”  humor  masks  absolute  mortification.  poorly  but  ..  enough  that  she  can  take  a  step  back  to  examine  the  bigger  picture.  since  she’s  already  started  ;  “ here. ”   flash  of  hands  through  the  air  ,  plucking  different  color  but  same  style  and  silhouette  off  the  rack  without  second  glance.  “ totally  going  to  leave  you  alone  now  ,  but  just  …  humor  me.  promise  you’ll  love  it. ”

[oflostdrcams]

At first, she hadn't even realized the person had been talking to her. It wasn't like she had been standing there trying to decide between anything. All she had done so far was grab the first one off of the rack. When it finally clicked that the woman had been addressing her, she finally turned to look with her eyebrows furrowed. "You do realize that you apologized for giving unsolicited advice and then continued to do it, right? Like, that makes the apology completely useless." Sydney accepted the shirt that the person was now handing over, but instead of going to try it on or buy it, she simply put it right back where it was. "I wasn't actually grabbing it to get it," she finally explained. "I could tell it had a cutout on the back and I was curious." The woman shrugged her shoulders before replacing the original one that she had grabbed. "Do you work here or do you just hang around?"

[backtotheo]

at first, there was amusement painted on his face, but it faded almost as quickly as it appeared when he realized he hadn't just flustered caroline, but that she was actually struggling with the words. "i was only joking. i know you don't want that now." his eyes slid back to his plate for a moment before finding her gaze again. he took a steadying breath and tipped his chin up again. "what way are you thinking...?" there had been a time that he could practically read caroline's mind. now, it was like he sort of got it, but like something was guarding her heart. that was fair. he was similar.

he still wanted to know, though.

"blueberry is sweet and good for you. kids order chocolate chip." it was nice to have this mundane conversation to escape to, even in their most serious conversations. he stabbed a bite of chocolate chip anyway, refuting his own point.

[oflostdrcams]

If it had been any other situation, any other conversation, she would've brushed it off. Would've made a joke or silly comment about how little versions of her would've been better. But since they were talking about the what ifs, and she danced around the regret and guilt she'd felt since, the jokes just didn't seem to make sense. "I know you were." Caroline figured a simple, genuine response was all that was necessary. Of course she knew he wasn't trying to start anything. He would never. When he asked her to clarify what she'd said, she started off shaking her head. "I don't think it'd be beneficial for either of us, or the friendship we're trying to have, if I share everything I've been thinking. And before you tell me that we don't keep secrets, let me have this one." Would that actually work? It was a toss up.

Caroline laughed at his argument. "Blueberry is good for you? Okay, mom, calm down. Sorry I didn't choose a fruit with my meal," she joked. Piercing a piece of the blueberry pancake with her fork, she made a dramatic show of popping the piece into her mouth. "Are you happy? I'm getting in multiple food groups."

[backtotheo]

"i mean, i didn't see a doctorr for 3 years until i got the job at acc, so..." he shrugged it off. mostly he just hoped to avoid anything that really needed medical attention because that shit was expensive. but now that the band was gaining traction -and he had a job with insurance- he'd utilized it more and more. he made a show of reaching for the battered notebook beside him, licked his thumb, and began flipping through the pages like he was checking a calendar. in reality, the book contained only lyrics and music for electric touch, but what syd didn't know wouldn't hurt her. "looks like i can pencil you in. what did you have in mind?"

[oflostdrcams]

"Gonna have to find another way to fix the whole in the heart thing then," she told him. That's where they were going with that, right? Sydney leaned back against the machine behind her, eyes on Theo as he made a show of looking for his schedule. "How generous of you! You sure such a distinguished star such as yourself has time for us common folk?" It seemed like perfect timing for them to end up here at the same time. Though if it had turned out that he was busy, she would've accepted that. Now it was more of a game knowing he wasn't. "We can probably cut the line at some five star restaurant for lunch," she suggested. "Maybe I'll go in first to let them know a celebrity's on his way."

[wondcrstrucks]

WHERE: tilted stage STATUS: open @corneliastarters

savannah is on her third shirt of the night. the first one having fallen victim to drunken spills and the next to an unfortunate run in with one of the patrons of the bar. she's over this shift, a need to get out and not be here settling deep in her veins. it's starting to bleed into her interactions with customers and she can only hope cody won't fire her when he hears how over this shift she is. "just a fair warning, if you order some 'secret' shot off of tiktok, i will pour it over your head." the words are directed at the first patron she sees, eyebrow arching in challenge. "other than that welcome to tilted stage where our spring specials are lemon lavender gin, spiked sparkling basil lemonade, a peeptini for easter."

[oflostdrcams]

While she didn't come here all that often, her group of friends had chosen it and she felt like she might as well head out with them. So far, things had been going pretty well. That was until she reached the bar and was met with a bartender who clearly wanted to be anywhere but there. "Does the whole bitchy thing work with your usual customers or are you just taking your shitty night out on me," she asked. Either one seemed fitting. "I'm just here looking for one more cosmo before I close out my tab. Sue me for assuming I could come up and order a drink from you without the whole Regina George act." Veronica looked around them, trying to see if there was anyone else that would be able to help her instead.

[backtotheo]

theo's heart was a drumbeat. steady, but the tempo was increasing as he listened to her speak. this was all so strange. a few months ago, he'd only thought of caroline davis in what-ifs, but more recently, they'd become friends, if not something bordering on more. sometimes it was still hard for him to reconcile her leaving pittsburgh with where they were now, but theo had decided during their most recent fight argument miscommunication that he preferred having her in his life as a friend as opposed to nothing at all. he found his voice in time to say "you just want little theos running around. it's okay to admit it."

he leaned back and away from her, then, pressing his free hand against his forehead and then combing his fingers through his hair. it was getting kind of long. he probably needed a haircut, but the fans seemed to like it longer. he'd ask the rest of the band about it next time they met. that seemed like an important conversation to have. "you can't just say shit like that, caro." he shoveled a bite of pancake into his mouth to give himself a moment to think. "i won't forget about it, but thanks." he guessed he could let it go from the conversation. it was still going to eat at him, though.

"mind reader," he said, picking one of his untouched pancakes up with his fork and knife and swapping it with one of hers. he tried a bite of her pancakes and hummed thoughtfully. "not bad. mine are better, though." he chased the bite with some coffee and tried the other one, thinking to himself that he was really glad he'd gone to her show. he couldn't think of a better way to be spending his night.

[oflostdrcams]

She felt like everything froze as his words repeated themselves in her head. You just want little Theos running around. How was she supposed to respond to that? "That's not- I don't-" Caroline looked down for a second in an attempt to collect her thoughts. Instead of saying anything else, she picked up the glass in front of her and took a long sip. Having a physical distraction seemed a lot safer than allowing herself to ramble and dig herself deeper into the strange little hole she'd gotten in.

She'd just accepted that she was going to let it go when he called her out for what she'd said. "You're really going to say I can't say shit that implies you could mean something to me yet you can sit there and make comments about the kids that exist in our what if timeline? Actually, it felt more like you commenting about what I want now and that's not fair, T." While she had once upon a time thought about a family with him, and that had crossed her mind on what could've been had she not left, she hadn't really meant to imply that that's where they'd be. She had really only been thinking of the fact that they'd still be together and there wouldn't have been so many years apart. "I had only suggested you forget about it because I was trying to respect where you are. I wanted to respect us not having secrets while still showing you that I understand you're not thinking the way I am."

Caroline shook her head at him. "I'm sorry, but you can't really tell me blueberry is better than chocolate chip," she jokingly argued. "Chocolate is always superior." Even though their conversation was swapping between serious and soft, she felt comfortable sitting there with him. Everything they'd been saying had been important to get out on both ends. Like he said, they didn't keep things from each other.

[untakenroadss]

"i don't know what's in that, but go for it." jo was still eyeing up the dirty blonde from the corner of her gaze and was pleased to see that the group seemed to be shooting less-than-furtive glances her way right back. she turned her attention back to sydney and cocked her head slightly. "show me the glasses. make my next one in one of them?" she flashed a toothy smile as she finished off her drink and slid the empty glass across the bar. she mouthed to herself about always looking hot as she stirred the ice remaining in her glass, careful to keep her eyes on the band currently playing. what was that keyboardist doing? a crowd surf? she stifled a laugh around her straw and turned her head just in time to hear syd offer the blonde the drink. she curled her fingers in a wave. that was fun. that was flirty. right? god, it'd been a long time since she'd been in the position to flirt, and when she'd done it with her husband, it'd just been spouting medical terms at each otherr. this was different. still, she couldn't deny the little thrill of her kickstart heart. when the other woman drifted back to her friends, she looked back at the bartender miserably. "that was bad. right?"

[oflostdrcams]

Sydney chuckled a bit. "It's literally just a Shirley Temple with vodka in it. For whatever reason, they're making a comeback." Even if they weren't her first choice, she could admit that they were easy to make. When Jo requested she see the glass, Syd turned to grab one and held it up. They were iridescent and had a female presenting silhouette as their shape. "They're a lot more interesting to post on social media," she explained. Pausing her conversation with the woman, she focused instead of delivering the new drink and trying to encourage the other patron to strike something up with the brunette. When she turned to head back down the bar, she laughed at the way Jo immediately questioned herself. "It wasn't bad," she insisted as she got started on a refill for the woman. "And she seemed interested! If she doesn't come up to you in a few minutes, I'd go up to her." Was this actually going to work out? "I'm Syd, by the way. Feel like I'm involved enough in your personal life now to actually introduce myself."

[liightsups]

𝐰𝐡𝐨: calum & syd  @oflostdrcams 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: like a rainbow

"so.." he spoke as his friend went to the bathroom, filling the awkward silence as they stood face-to-face. he's pretty sure that she doesn't want to talk - but he's nothing if not polite. "it's been a minute." an observation is not a conversation. he cleared his throat and continued. "you're looking hot. busy night ?"

[oflostdrcams]

When Sydney had first spotted him approaching the bar, she looked around her trying to come up with any excuse to leave. Was it time for her break? Could she fake an illness and dash that fast? Unfortunately, nothing actually worked out and she was forced to be face to face with the one person she couldn't stand the most. "Hasn't been long enough," she replied as she leveled him with a glare. "Did you want a drink or did you just come over here to be an asshole? I know that's your favorite hobby."

[glitchedgoalie]

ty bit back a laugh. "it's not tiny. i got cut by a skate blade. could have been blinded." or worse, but it'd just taken a couple of stitches and he never skated without a visor again. and then he'd become a full time goalie with a full goalie mask, so that helped protect his face, too. he had all his own teeth, thank you very much. he shrugged. "can't a guy get to know his friend?" his tone was innocent but a smirk betrayed him. still, anyone passing by would probably think nothing of it.

"has to be an off day, though. i'm not messing with my routine for anyone." not even someone he was starting to consider important to him. ty shrugged that thought away like he often did a goal against: quickly. like ted lasso always said, you had to be a goldfish in sports. he had to be a goldfish when it came to his feelings for syd that he was conveniently ignoring, too. he'd forget about them, only for them to crop up at the worst possible moment.

with an exaggerated sigh, he started walking backwards down the hallway. "i just wouldn't get captured and drugged. but on the off chance i was, i guess i'd try, unless i was really old or something." he took a few more steps back and away from her and lifted his hand in a wave. "see you around, syd." as he finally turned his back on her, he reached for his phone and typed out a quick text saying he'd see her at hers, and backtracked to grab his jacket from the locker room -and avoid a few of his teammates- on the way out. he took a winding route to syd's apartment building and followed another person in, went up the stairs, and then picked up the spare key from beneath the mat to let himself in.

he was sitting on her couch watching sportscenter when she got back. "hey. took you a while. did you get lost or what?"

[oflostdrcams]

"I'm fucking with you. Does the scar still stick out to you? Maybe I'm just trying to say that the one mark on your face doesn't create a bad side." It wasn't like she could stand there and tell him he's hot, so she figured this was the better option. The scar had been something she'd asked him about earlier on, but never in a negative way. The curiosity had been accompanied by a soft trace of it with her finger. "You're such a good friend trying to figure out the best ways to be my wingman," she joked. "You know, you're really hands on. I respect it."

She'd never dream of getting in the way of him and his routines. Especially because she knew how much the game meant to him. How much he loved getting himself ready, physically and mentally, to jump right into the middle of it all. "Hey, I know where I stand," she commented with a little smirk. "Promise to never get in the way." While her tone was playful, there was truth hidden behind what she said. As she turned to walk away now, she shook her head at him. No one in a crazy Saw-like situation tried to get captured. Since she had the kitten, she'd taken a little while longer assisting the shelter workers in making sure all of the animals were accounted for and ready to go. She'd also grabbed a few end of day shots to document the entire process.

When she'd finally gotten home, she was thankful for the text she'd gotten earlier. It saved her from the shock of walking in to find someone already waiting for her. "Some of us were actually working the shoot," she playfully argued. "I wasn't there to just look pretty." Syd tossed her backpack down by the door, slipped off her shoes, and went to go join him on the couch. Now that they were alone, she had visibly relaxed and wasn't second guessing every move she made or word she said. "What are you thinking for dinner? Kinda really in the mood for Chinese, but I can be persuaded to go with something else."

[backtotheo]

"the enemy hasn't won the cup in a long time, so i think it'll be okay." theo ran his hand through his hair when he took it back from hers. "we should do it soon. playoffs are too stressful, probably even for team staff." he was already pulling up the schedule on his phone and noting a few games that might work, though he'd have to cross it with the band's schedule and his work schedule. he couldn't quite picture the pokemon calendar hanging on their fridge. he closed out of the app and glanced back at her. "that's a pretty big gash. you might wanna see a doctor." he crossed his arms and quirked a brow. "you know the phone works both ways, right? still got my number?"

[oflostdrcams]

Sydney simply rolled her eyes at that even though she knew he had a point. "Oh, shit, yeah. I definitely couldn't try taking any of those games off just in case." Hopefully they made it that far. She'd need to plan things out with him within the next day or two just in case. "Who can afford to see doctors in this city?" She was mostly joking about that since she did have insurance through her job, but what was the fun in being realistic. "Damn. Calling me out even after I implied I missed you?! Digging into the wound here, man." Of course she knew half of them not hanging out much lately was on her, but she wanted to try fixing that now. Theo had always been a fun person to hang out with. "Do you have big plans after this or are you down to chill for a bit?"

[papcr-rlngs]

Where: Pages Turned Who: Open @corneliastarters

Sam heard the tinkle of the bell over the door as someone walked into the bookstore. He waved, setting his book down upside down to save his page. "Welcome in! Feel free to take your time browsing the books. This old place has been known to suck people in for hours though, so I will warn you, if you're short on time, you might want to be mindful of the clock." Sam chuckled and pointed to a few that were strategically placed among the overcrowded bookshelves full of used books. "Or if there's a time that you need to be out of here by, just let me know. I'll do my best to come find you and remind you."

"Or, if there's something you're looking for in particular, I can point you in the direction of the right section. When it comes down to certain titles though, that might be a bit of a challenge. Even for as organized as everything is, there's still a treasure trove of newer and old, old, old books around here, and with thousands of titles, I don't quite know where everything is. Just an estimation of where it should be." He smiled at them. "I'm Sam, if you need anything."

[oflostdrcams]

Caroline had never been a big reader until recently. A couple months ago, she'd stumbled upon BookTok and ended up finding a new love of getting lost in stories. Until now, random play or musical scripts had been the majority of what she read. With this new love, she'd looked online for good book stores to check out and had read about Pages Turned. The sound of someone's voice as soon as she'd stepped into the building had her raising her head in their direction. "I luckily have a couple hours to spare," she told the person. "But I guess if you start noticing it creeping towards five, I'd definitely appreciate the heads up." Caroline didn't think she'd ever spend that long in a book store, but his warning had given her pause.

While he talked more about what she'd possibly find, and how the shelves were packed, she looked around them. It was obvious that this place had a lot to offer and she understood why the workers wouldn't be able to pinpoint everything available. "Truthfully, I might just want to scan through all of my options and see what jumps out at me. I'm kinda new to the whole bookworm world." Maybe that was silly to admit as a thirty year old woman, but she figured the person wouldn't judge her for it. "I'm Caroline," she introduced. "How long have you been working here?"