MANICURED BROWS RAISE slightly , peaked in question as she eyes the girl across from her . the subtle name drop had her body stiffening . she thought studying would take her mind of this entire situation . she’d already lived through this once , did they need to dig it all up again . two were dead , one missing & the culprit behind bars . with a sigh , petra offers a shake of her head . ❛ i think it’s some dickhead with a sick sense of humor & no social life , natalia’s probably dead , why would he leave one alive if he killed the other two ? ❜
NIKITA BITES HER LIP GENTLY as she takes note of
the other’s changing facial expression ---- had they said
something wrong ? was curiosity of her thoughts on the
anonymous person not a good enough reason to bring the
whole situation back up ? OPS ! nik pressed their lips together,
starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. “ that’s probably more like-
ly than the person being natalia , huh . . ? ”
she shrugs at the follow up question. “ i don’t know . . . ” an
honest answer. it really wouldn’t make sense for the killer to
slain two & leave one alive. unless -------- “ what if ..... what if
natalia somehow escaped . . ? ” sure; it was grasping at straws &
creating unlikely scenarios. but nikita can’t help but wonder ...
sebastian looked over at her, replaying her question in his head a few times before finally working out an answer. “my ex girlfriend? do i think she’s behind some treacherous account trying to scare us by threatening our secrets? is that what you’re asking me?” he questioned, though his words were stone cold. “no, i don’t.”
A RATHER STRANGE LOOK washes over their face as sebastian speaks ; the way he had said the sentence rubbed them the wrong way --- not to mention the tone in his voice. “ i mean, okay . . . you could’ve just said no. ” nikita doesn’t mean to but their eyes roll on their own. their attitude had shifted completely. “ do you think it’s some kind of joke like everyone else? ”
the moment leo looks over and sees tears in nikita’s eyes he regrets having gone off on her; he hadn’t even meant to, everything had come out before he could stop it, but that’s pretty much his modus operandi these days concerning the subject of natalia. “sorry, nik,” he says, heaving a great sigh and scooting closer to bump her gently with his shoulder. “it’s not your fault, i’ve been on edge since everyone got that text. pathetic, really.” pathetic, yes, and also impossible to do anything about, apparently.
the question she asks is a personal one, and why not? they know a lot about each other. she’s told him about the horror show of her high school career, and he’s told her about his struggle with substance abuse and a one-parent family. of course, he’s also lied to her–they’re lies he tells everyone, but they’re still lies. he hates it, but the alternative is talking about things he simply doesn’t have the strength to talk about, so he tells one more now: “no,” he says simply, and lifts the bottle to his lips again. “i…smoked with her once or twice, that’s all.” it’s more than he’s told most people, anyway, but still a long way from the whole truth. and, in a low voice, “did you know her?”
NIKKI RESTS HER HEAD ON his shoulder. she knew he didn’t mean it ; she just couldn’t help the fact that her feelings are as fragile as a raw egg. brows furrow & lifts her head , turning to him. she cups his cheek with her hand. “ leo, you are not pathetic. ” surely everyone ( or most people, at least ) who had gotten the text was on edge. it was creepy. unnerving. & the absolute last thing people needed to read when settling in to the new school year ----- poor freshmans.
after asking the question , she studied his face ; trying not to make it painfully obvious that she was. nikki turned her body towards him --- now sitting criss cross on the couch --- & leaned her head against the back pillows. she appreciated that he had opened up to her -- even if only a little. “ i didn’t really know her, no. ” sure : nikki had seen her around the school but she didn’t know her intimately. “ are you . . . okay ? ”
“ not at all. truthfully, i think natalia may be dead, just like destiny and mateo. this may just be another student trying to fuck with us. ” sage replied dismissively, thinking on the matter. “ and besides, we shouldn’t let this distract us from our academics. the only way we can beat this is by outsmarting whoever this is. “
OUTSMARTING WHOEVER IT IS . . . nikita’s face seems to glow at those words ; she’d never thought to outsmart them. to try to find whoever it is & expose them. she hums. “ think we’re smart enough to do that ? ” nikki asks -- half joking. she knows they most certainly are. a straw is placed in between her lips & the remaining cold water in her cup is slurped. “ i just hope whoever it is drops the whole act soon . . . it scares me, honestly. ”
nikita’s presence has become such a safe and comfortable one that leo rarely has any defenses up when she’s around, and his defenses are usually thin anyway. he’s an open person, honest about his feelings, comfortable with emotion, so usually there’s really no need for any defense. the thing with natalia is different–almost unbearable, actually, but in this matter leo has kept himself a rather closed book. tori’s the only one he’s ever told about his history with natalia, let alone the feelings for her he’d developed, and until that whole obscenity two years ago it hadn’t been difficult to keep secret. he’d mourned alone, bitterly. now every time someone mentions her name he’s terrified they’ll see everything written on his face. having been as utterly relaxed as he is hanging out with nikita at his apartment, beer in hand, he’s absolutely sure he faltered when she said natalia’s name; the question is whether he’d managed to cover it up fast enough. “do i think what is natalia, love?” he asks in a voice of drawn-out apathy, as though anyone on this campus wouldn’t immediately know what she was referring to. “are you talking about the text?” he laughs, and there’s no humor in it. he wonders if he’ll ever be able to talk about this particular subject without shutting down. “no, i don’t think it’s fucking natalia, what kind of vapid teen drama do these idiots think we live in? gimme a break.” he immediately regrets the harshness of his words and, after taking a sip of his drink, adds, “it’s just stirring the pot is all, nikki, people get bored with reality and make up these pathetic fantasies to entertain themselves. it’s called lord of the fucking rings, know what i mean? i’m so sick of living in a fucking reality show.”
HER HEART SINKS INTO HER chest as she listens - -- watches his reaction to her question. she tries not to take his response too personally but it’s, to her surprise, rather hard ; the two had been through quite a lot during their time in each other’s lives. nikita didn’t expect to care so much about him . . . his well - being. “ i -- i’m sorry, ” her quiet voice says. & then his harsh words come ---- hitting her directly in the heart. tears began to well in her eyes. why was she so goddamn sensitive ? nikita clears her throat before taking a drink of her water. nikki clenches her teeth together & forces the sadness back into her chest before saying : “ i didn’t mean to upset you if i did. ” a long silence comes over her. why did she open her big , stupid mouth ?
a few moments had passed : nikita wipes the remaining tears from her eyes before turning to leo. she hadn’t seen his walls fly up so quickly around her when talking about someone in particular. she’s hesitant to ask but once she builds up the courage ------ “ did she . . . mean something to you ? ” & it only took seconds for nikki to regret asking.
“ natalia ? ” pink matte lips pressed together at the name, a girl she hadn’t spoke of for quite some time but also harboured her own curiosities in regards to her disappearance, before a humourless laugh caused them to part once again. “ of course not, that’s fucking stupid. she’s dead. ” it was bad enough that the investigation had been reopened after all this time, but to have this mass text lingering over their heads now was ridiculous. the very thought had tori’s blood boiling. how dare some self-proclaimed sleuth try to threaten her. with an exasperated roll of green hues, the blonde lifted a hand to gingerly tuck a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. “ honestly, nikki, it’s been two years — nearly three. it’s just some sick take at a joke to get everyone going absolute apeshit. ”
MAYBE THE BLONDE WAS right but --- “ how do you know that for sure, though ? have you seen her body ? ” maybe it was disrespectful to even be considering her to be the one who sent that mass text . . . though part of it being her made sense. “ i mean, wouldn’t you hold even a bit of a grudge against the people who were supposed to look for you until you were found but never did ? ” shrug. “ anyway, i guess it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. it’s not like we can all have life threatening secrets . . . . . . ” nikita looks at tori & feels somewhat worried. “ right ? ”
“of course it’s natalia,” the young woman confirmed in a loud yet oddly hushed tone as she braced forward on her bony little elbows, folding her arms on top of each other. “i mean, it’s just too convenient, don’t you think? chad’s locked up, i doubt someone managed to smuggle a cell phone with paid service up their ass to him, and where is she? out there turning this thing into some morbid joke– two people died.” these last words were said in firm criticism, as if she suspected the girl in question was somewhere nearby, listening in. “i mean,” vada shook her head, blowing bangs from her eyes,”i always had this feeling about her, y’know? like that she was just a seriously shady person.” indeed, the dislike between the two females wasn’t secret.
SHE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY GOT A sick feeling in her stomach after the other voiced her opinion ----- it did make sense for it to be natalia but . . . “ why would she do it though . . . ? to this extent ? ” nikita shook her head & pressed her lips together. “ it just doesn’t make sense to me. ” nikki leaned back in the chair & let out a raspberry. she didn’t know why she was so intrigued + interested in cracking the code. maybe it was the psychological factor that interested her the most ; who’s to say . . . “ did you know her when she was here ? ” a question nikita prayed wouldn’t bring up any bad memories.
Running his hand down his face he sat up at the table, “Mierda it’s too fucking early.” Sitting in the UC Santiago was busy tossing peices of notebook paper on the floor. He’d get some professor bitching at him, he knew that but right now he didn’t care. “Does anyone who takes 8am classes ever actually go to them?”
𝑺𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑨𝑵'𝑻 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑷 𝑩𝑼𝑻 giggle. not technically at him ---- nikita watched at the pieces hit the floor ; slowly starting to pile on top one another. “ i can almost guarantee -- with the price of being here so fucking high -- that almost everyone goes to their classes. no matter how early. ” she leans her head slightly to the left. “ i’m guessing you have an 8am class . . ? ”
𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑯𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑰𝑹𝑺𝑻 day at the university , she’d been curious about the history. she’d often wonder if he really did it. nikita opened her eyes & leaned closer to the other to ask a question : “ i know this is completely random and out of no where , but . . ” she’s reminded of the mass text that went around just a few days prior. the knot in her stomach hadn’t loosened since she read it. her voice drops even quieter. “ do you think it’s natalia ? ”
♡ ! ——— hELLO my name is amanda ( 19 + she/they ) and i am very excited to meet everyone + your characters :^) under the cut you’ll find info on my baby, NIKITA ~
also my d/scord is coochpetals#3608 if anyone prefers talking / plotting from there
— ARIZONA U is proud to introduce you to NIKITA TANAKA , the twenty-three year old , undergraduate psychology major in her/their SOPHOMORE year. most of their peers deem them as someone who is sweet, empathetic & polite but i know that some of their professors think they’re more emotional, clingy & skittish , maybe that’s why the police are still interviewing them on the reopened cold case. maybe it was because they were also EX GIRLFRIEND of DESTINY MICHAELSON. i mean that is just a little suspicious, but i only really think of golden hours, gold cross necklaces, crying at night so no one can hear & matching shirts with her grandmother when i hear their name, not murder. but i could be wrong. — FIVEL STEWART.
ON THE SURFACE
STATS PAGE & WANTED CONNECTIONS .
minimal make up , soft kisses , shy smiles , glossy lips , sugar melting on the tongue , fairy lights around a mirror , berry picking and sidewalk chalk , silently observing the world , appreciating small beauties .
a forewarning that there will be mentions of her being drugged + recorded while doing indecent stuff -- i’ll also put a warning on that specific bullet point so you can skip if it need be. & i’ll be talking about religion ( christianity ) throughout
born to a very religious & strict couple, bo and leona in a small town just 3 hours outside arizona.
she had to abide by the rules of god & the rules of her household or there would be “dire consequences” ( as her mother put it ).
in grade 12, nikita was invited to a house party by a girl named matilda… someone she would grow to hate. there was no reason to be suspicious and so, she went to this party.
WARNING ~ / nikita had been drugged & had done indecent actions while matilda & her friends recorded her.
^^ she woke up on the front doorstep when the sun rose ; alone & terrified.
the link was spread throughout the entire school & nikita was quickly made into a mockery. by some miracle, her parents never saw this link. thank GOD (literally).
prayed, confessed, countless hours of volunteer work. eventually, she was forgiven —– by herself or by her god, who’s to say. she still feels a lot of regret & hates talking about it to this day.
she always knew she wanted to study psychology & become a school counselor to be the person kids / teens can trust with their problems. nikki thinks it’s mEGa important for them to not bottle it up like she did.
NOWADAYS
she still very much loves god & prays often but she does it more in private and doesn’t really like to discuss religion with people. she does go to church every sunday though.
trying to live her best life tbh -- just taking each day as they come, trying to blend in with the crowd and not get into too much trouble.
really wanted to get out of her comfort zone for the rest of her university experience so she became a cheerleader as a back spot !!?! and to her surprise, she actually really enjoys it.
tries to be that person everyone can go to with their problems -- not only for practice but also because she genuinely wants everyone to be mentally healthy and happy.
RANDOM HEADCANONS
is a demigirl & goes by either she or they ! she literally...... never talks about her gender identity & she’s only really told her super close friends about it.
is a vegan & will get very sick if she eats meat :(
a hOPELESS FRICKING ROMANTIC. WOW. she loves love and will literally melt if you compliment her and wholesome things make her so happy
was in looooooove with destiny & still is !!!! she was her first ever same-sex relationship & nikita was the one to break things off because she didn’t want destiny to feel tied down or anything and she reeaaally regrets leaving her.
is simply too fucking wholesome for this world DJKGH. she gets hurt so easily and makes this really sad face while trying not to cry. shit’s so sad LMAO.
i think that’s all i wanted to add ?? if you’d like to plot, please hmu @ legit any time of the day or night + i’ll reply as soon as i see it !!! :”)
