— SIERRA COLE

"There's only one place I want to go, and it's to all the places I've never been."

[sierra-cole]

chasehastings‌:

His second Christmas in Hollow Grove since officially moving to town had gone as smoothly as it could in a town full of relatives. There was something to be said in regards to the excitement that came from watching a handful of littles get excited about the presents under the tree. The week since had felt like no time had passed at all and as Chase ended yet another phone call standing in the town square, he flagged down the first person he recognized. “Hey, quick question, can you tell me why nobody wrapped a jumbo Toblerone and stuck it under a tree for me? Seriously, all the people I know in this town and not a one of them bought this monstrosity for me.”

Doing some afternoon photography in the town square, the last thing Sierra expected was to be flagged down by one of the Hastings. She didn’t know him all too well, though that didn’t stop her from immediately engaging with the conversation. “Did you painfully, obviously hint at it with a shitload of passive-aggressiveness? ‘Cause if not, I can’t exactly fault the people in your life for not taking a hint. Everyone knows that’s the only way to get what you really want for Christmas,” she joked.

[sierra-cole]

islarafferty‌:

“Forget that ‘New Year, New You’ business…” Even as she said it, she didn’t agree with it. The last year had been a crazy one all around - not only in town but on a national scale. The town itself was in need of the restart button that came every January 1st at the stroke of midnight. Between the Clave attack at Spring Fling and the not so innocent fog of Halloween, the town she loved needed a fresh start. For here, there was no better place to start than with a slight overhaul of the menu at Hell’s Kitchen. “…the slogan should be 'New Year, Slightly New Menu.’ Ronnie mentioned once that I didn’t have enough items incorporating her favorite buffalo flavor,” She set down an assortment of plates on the table in front of an unsuspecting, quite possibly unwilling to participate guest with a smile, “so here we’ve got buffalo chicken mac 'n’ cheese, buffalo chicken grilled cheese, buffalo cauliflower and a buffalo quesadilla. Would you mind terribly sampling these, on the house, and let me know your thoughts? Please?”

“Not to detract from anything that you’re saying right now,” Sierra said, waving her hand for emphasis, “but I can’t decide if I should be offended or not that you’d think I’d ever turn down free food. What about me indicates I would do that?” It was a joke, a skit, and though she looked slightly alarmed, there was an undertone of playfulness to her words nonetheless. “Is it the lip gloss? I’m only using it ‘cause it’s cold; it’s in no way indicative of me ever turning down free food.” After holding her point in the air with her expression for a second, she rolled her eyes at herself and said,  “That’s my really long-winded way of saying hell yes I’ll eat your food.” Her gaze drifted to the buffalo chicken mac ‘n’ cheese, which she pulled toward herself with interest. “What’s the deal with all the buffalo?”

[sierra-cole]

clliexhstings‌:

“Um.” Callie started off as her face turned bright red. “Well.. This one is occupied.” She said sheepishly, as she quickly covered her exposed torso with a shirt she was just about to try on. “Do you need to use it? I’m almost done.” The young Hastings asked as she looked at the person who had just barged into her dressing room while she was half naked. 

“Aren’t you done yet?” Sierra teased, completely unfazed by the half-naked Hastings blushing in the dressing room. Well, slightly unfazed. She pulled back the curtain a little to give Callie a semblance of privacy, at least from the outside world of the rest of the vicinity. “The idea of shopping together isn’t that one person spends the entire time in the dressing room and the other one spends it out in the store.”

[sierra-cole]

morganxambrose‌:

“So there I was, bruising my knees underneath the catering table,” Morgan paused, all for dramatic effect of course and pursed her lips, stained red from the too sweet drink she’d conned some poor sap into buying her before sending him away with a wave of her hand. There was a black card in her purse but rare was the time she intended on using it. She’d always been a firm believer in never paying for her own alcohol. “When I realized I wasn’t blowing Humphrey Bogart at all. It was like– a camera man or something.” She shrugged, unfazed by the surprise element in her story. “He wasn’t ugly.”

“Okay, back up a sec -- why were you trying to blow Humphrey Bogart of all people?” Sierra frowned in amusement. Far be it from her to judge anyone for their taste in men, but she’d never looked at that particular actor as the particularly hunky type. Weren’t the hunks the ones you scored things with? “Why not Paul Newman? Or-- Actually, Paul Newman’s enough on his own. If you’re gonna blow anyone under the catering table, I feel like it should be Paul Newman.” It had little to do with her recent rewatch of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, and more to do with the fact that... well, Paul Newman was just her type of man. 

[sierra-cole]

connorxhastings‌:

“Have I told you how much I’ve missed you?” Connor chuckled at her hand, knowing full well if it came down to it he’d actually wrap a small child’s house in retaliation. Tucking a leg up underneath him, he ran a hand across his hair, letting the hand settle behind his neck, the images of them running full tilt across a snow covered yard flashed across his mind. “I would have come back for you. No one deserves to go out at the hands of Mrs. Henderson.”

"I’ve missed you too, you big softie,” Sierra said with a lop-sided smile, letting her hand fall to her side. She’d missed a lot about Hollow Grove, now that she was actually there, reminded at every turn of the people and things she hadn’t seen in such a long time. Ironic, it was, that she hadn’t come there because of any type of homesickness -- but she didn’t want to think about that right now. Not in the company of one of her closest friends. “Well, it would have been her shotgun, not her hands,” Sierra joked, “but, thanks, I appreciate it. Plus, I would have haunted the crap out of you if you hadn’t.”

[sierra-cole]

nathanielxgreyson‌:

“I know you’re right, but it seems far more comfortable over here. Where I can’t be upstaged by some people,” he said pointedly, looking at her with a smile as she impressively glided onto the ice.  “I think you just want me out there so you can skate circles around me.”

“Come on, don’t go all Mr Darcy on me, you can admire me from over here as well,” Sierra joked playfully, gracefully keeping herself in motion on the ice as she glided somewhat aimlessly. She pursed her lips and shook her head at him. “Excuses. How about if I promise to only skate one circle around you instead of the hundreds-or-so I was planning to?”

[sierra-cole]

dylcnwright‌:

If Dylan had been drinking anything, she’s sure she would’ve spit it out. “Her shotgun?” she repeats, chocking back her surprise with wide eyes. “Guess it was a good thing she wasn’t voted for mayor, then? If she thinks shotguns are the way to solve things.” Granted, she didn’t have much room to talk. Dylan was fairly new to the town and still felt a little bit separate from most of the residence. “Uh, yeah, screw that. They’re smart enough to know better,” she replied. “Also sounds like your parents didn’t deserve it. Put ‘em in jail for a night for destruction of private property. See if they do it again.” There’s a fake seriousness to her words, a sternness that’s beyond her years — though it’s lighthearted at its core.

A grin appeared on Sierra’s lips, and she looked thoroughly amused at the girl’s reaction. It was always fun to see people react to Mrs Henderson’s many... antics, especially if they had little to no prior knowledge of who she even was. In a way, one could almost guess the level of years somebody had spent in town simply by how well they knew of Mrs Henderson. “To tell you the truth, I’m surprised she even tried,” Sierra said, bemused at the thought. “You’d think the person who wants to be the mayor of a town would like the town, wouldn’t you?” Sierra let out a laugh, nodding slightly. “You jest, but I almost hunted them down when I first heard about it,” she grinned, now shaking her head instead. “My parents did not deserve that. Least of all by a bunch of punks who don’t respect the sanctity of egging.”

[sierra-cole]

stellablackwood‌:

“That woman is a legend, I don’t like to think of her dying.” she replied with a chuckle, “But, I haven’t actually found that out for myself, I’ll be honest. It’s not exactly easy to get a meeting with Ms. White.”

“It’s something we all worry about,” Sierra nodded in agreement. Though she couldn’t deny she had a rather morbid curiosity for what would happen when the woman did die -- Sierra couldn’t quite think of any celebrity at that age so beloved, and the world’s reaction was... interesting to imagine. “True, very true,” Sierra let out with a laugh. “You know... have you ever thought of how much she and Mrs Henderson look alike? They look like they could be cousins.”

[sierra-cole]

sparrowrousseau‌:

Maybe she was just a little out of touch with these Halloween traditions. Sparrow eyed her a little confused, head tiltin. “Why Mrs Henderson’s house?” Truthfully she didn’t understand the whole thing anyway, regardless of the house and who it belonged to. “I’m sure they didn’t mean anything against your parents though. They sound nice.” At this she smiled warmly, suddenly homesick. “My parents used to do that too. My dad had the belly and all— he’d eat the cookies and milk every Christmas eve.”

“If you have to ask, you haven’t met Mrs Henderson,” Sierra joked, although for all intents and purposes, it was... kind of true. If the adults in town thought she was unpleasant, she doubled that unpleasantness whenever she interacted with kids. As somebody who had grown up in town, Sierra knew that all too well. “Yeah, me neither,” she agreed with a shrug. “At the end of the day, they were just being kids.” She should know, she’d been in that exact same position before. Except, of course, she hadn’t egged a house that had given her candy. And it hadn’t been her parents’. “A man after my own heart,” Sierra joked, though couldn’t help the smile on her lips. “Where are you from?”

[sierra-cole]

connorxhastings‌:

“Someone egged your parents house?! What children do I need to fight?” Connor had loved Sierra’s parents for so long that the thought of their house being egged actually made him vaguely angry. “Do you remember the time we egged Mrs. Henderson’s house? I’ve never feared for my life so much as I did in that moment.” Sierra had been Connor’s pranking partner in crime for as long as he could remember and he couldn’t lie and say he wasn’t happy to see his friend after far too long. 

“Way ahead of you,” Sierra said with a hint of sarcasm, holding up her hand in a calming gesture. “I’ve got their names, addresses, social security numbers -- we are good to go.” Giving him a lop-sided grin, she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her at the memory. “It was glorious,” she grinned, gaze fixated upwards for just a moment as she recalled the event; the desperate, wheezy panting, running as hard as she could, trying to keep up with Connor who was both taller and more athletic than her as they fled for what was surely their lives. “You were so much faster than me I thought for sure I’d have to sacrifice myself so you could live to tell the tale,” she grinned.

[sierra-cole]

dantemach‌:

“Hey now,” Dante raised his hands out as if in surrender. “People say coffee is life. Coffee is the best thing since sliced bread. Coffee is life.” A quick pause. “Oh I already said that.” Furrowing his eyebrows in bemusement, he pondered on other lines. “So, if I go… well damn, you’re beautiful to someone, like, say, you, it’d work?”

"Oh, yeah, coffee is definitely life -- just not an aphrodisiac,” Sierra replied. She watched him as he pondered, though his next words elicited a lop-sided grin from her. Giving him a once-over -- though she hardly needed to, as further demonstrated by the appreciation already present in her gaze -- she didn’t miss a beat as she said, “Yeah. It would.”

[sierra-cole]

patroclusbell‌:

“What? And I only just finished unpacking, damn. Goodbye house, I guess.” He shrugged, repeatedly, until his shoulders were almost up to his ears, an then let them drop. “Ah well.” Next year he’d aim to be more prepared, but time flew when you moved countries and started working full time right away. “Hey now, I’m not a gossip or a dobber, my mouth is like a steel trap. Never said anything about anyone, ever, in my whole life, cross my heart and all.”  His head tilted to the side, pouting slightly as he pleaded. “That’s sounds too good to keep to yourself, surely. What did this oldie do to deserve your apparently unspeakable crime against them?”

In hindsight she was glad she hadn’t been home for Halloween -- hearing about what had happened to her parents had angered her at first, and she knew if she’d been around when it happened, she would have followed through on her plan to find the little brats who did it. “Mmh, I don’t know,” Sierra said, sizing him up with a contemplative look. “You sure you’re not somebody’s grandson come to trick me into admitting guilt? You have that grandson vibe.” Knowing it made little to no sense -- it didn’t have to, considering it was a joke -- Sierra nonetheless moved on with a shrug and a cryptic, playful little smile. “Let’s just say fourteen year old me found an interesting way to protest the dress code at school.”

[sierra-cole]

stellablackwood‌:

“She has a habit of chasing people with a gun, I always thought human but so many different options have been brought up with her running, perhaps that was her campaign plan all along–” the woman thought, “I mean, it worked really, everyone talks about her.”

“It sure did,” Sierra agreed. Not that she minded it -- Mrs Henderson was fun to even just talk about. “I guess if she lives longer than Betty White we’ll know for sure,” Sierra grinned, looking amused at the thought. “After all, she’s set the standard for human aging.” Furrowing her brow, Sierra added, “Actually, do we know if Betty’s even human?”

[sierra-cole]

daxcurtis‌:

“Egging first made an appearance in the middle ages when prisoners were put in stocks and pelted with them. Then Elizabethan theater-goers would throw rotten eggs to protest against bad acting.” Dax wasn’t sure when it became tradition to egg houses and cars but it was a waste of time and eggs in his opinion. “Not to mention the fact that egging property could spread diseases like E. coli and salmonella. They should be glad they didn’t end up with egg on their faces.” He nodded to himself and turned his attention back to his coffee, reminding himself to stop with the facts. He had more, but he had been told over and over that not every fact needed to be laid out for people.

“Mmh, if only we could do that now,” Sierra joked dreamily. Pretending to snap out of it, she added, “The latter, not the former. I guess at the end of the day I just really wanna pelt an egg at Mel Gibson.” Quirking an eyebrow, Sierra found it rather amusing than worrying, those facts of his. She kept her gaze to him even as he turned back, not very hindered by the action. “Well, they were inside, so their house would have to be falling apart for that to happen to them, but... you’re right.” These days, if Sierra wanted some fun, she hardly went egging houses -- she really hadn’t even thought of the Halloween tradition until it had happened to her parents. “Luckily, nobody got hurt.” 

[sierra-cole]

dylcnwright‌:

Dylan couldn’t help but chuckle. “There’s definitely honor to it, but you’re totally right. The kids these days,” she shakes her head, as if the simple thought of them made her sad — even though she wasn’t much older than they were. “I don’t know much about this Mrs. Henderson but from what I can tell, she’d be the type to throw something right back at you if you tried. Maybe the kids’ll get shafted for Christmas because of it, though. You never know.”

Giving the girl a lop-sided grin, Sierra couldn’t help but be amused as the blonde shook her head -- she looked barely older than the kids who had egged her parents’ house. For all she knew, she could be one of those kids. It was an entertaining thought more than anything, though. “That, and so much more,” Sierra nodded. “You throw an egg, she fires her shotgun.” She clicked her tongue, shaking her head. “Now, that would be unfair! They’re just kids. Doing what kids do. They can’t help it.” The sarcasm in her voice evident, Sierra did think some of these kids might want to learn some manners. Even if Mrs Henderson could withstand the constant heckling, it didn’t mean her parents could -- nor that they deserved it. Mrs Henderson might be the rudest being in Hollow Grove, but Sierra’s parents definitely weren’t. 

[sierra-cole]

liviaxpereira‌:

“I know, I mean, I couldn’t really blame him.” she replied with a shrug, “Just a guy around town.”

“Maybe he’s the domestic type,” Sierra allowed with a mirroring shrug. “I am just very glad I’m not on Tinder so I don’t have to deal with that, and all these unwanted dick picks and stalkers I’ve been hearing so much about.” She gave the other a lop-sided grin. “Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to hit on someone to their face.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head, correcting herself, “Actually, call me vain, ‘cause I prefer to scope people out in person before I engage with them.”

[sierra-cole]

littlexgreyson‌:

“I guess they just can’t think of anything more creative to do? You’re totally right though, you can’t egg someone’s house for no reason. Especially if they’re actually giving you lollies. You have to go for the nasty ones who chase you off their lawn or keep your ball when it lands in their yard.” she agreed. “Sorry your parents got the brunt of it though. If you know who the kids are we could totally scare ‘em! Maybe… just a little.” she said with an innocent smile. 

“Kids these days have no creativity -- they could’ve egged the principal’s house, for starters!” Sierra replied, thinking of how she and her friends had done just that, one fateful Halloween. In their defense, the principal at the time was less than friendly to most students. She let out a laugh at the blonde’s suggestion, nodding in agreement. “Oh, trust me, I’d love that,” she said. “I was actually this close to pulling some magical strings and finding out who they were, but...” Sierra shrugged, pressing her lips together. “My parents don’t hold it against them. Nothing broke. No one got hurt. Kids’ll be kids.”