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[sundrifts]

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GONÇALVES   ,   𝘽𝙇𝙔𝙏𝙃𝙀  .   (   introduction   .   visage   .   musings   .   )

[lcdyliberty]

　　୨ৎ　　liberty hadn’t intended on lingering in blythe’s orbit ,  but there was something so much easier about sticking in their little group lately. subconsciously, it seemed she had dragged herself along with where the brunette had settled. when the drink was presented, the possibility of it being for her hadn’t even crossed the blonde’s mind. someone else obviously had the same idea. strength in numbers, and everything like that. liberty’s head moved in time with blythe’s cup, following to see if the person next to her accepted the offer. only to find that spot empty. then, snapped back to the other woman. “ oh, for — me ? ” perhaps not the most eloquent choice of response. the manicured nail flicking back to point at herself likely just making it worse. confidence. assertiveness. women like blythe could probably smell fear.

she cleared her throat, just as blythe had done before. okay, take two ! “ yeah, yes. ” perhaps too demanding. “ please. ” but it was less of a request and more of an acceptance. “ . . . thank you, ” she finally settled on. however, with the cup in her hand and blythe’s explanation given, they approached another awkward crossroads.

to reject the drink would be rejecting blythe’s offer. her olive branch, perhaps. a symbol of acceptance and camaraderie. realistically, just a cup she didn’t want to hold anymore. but did drinking when blythe had declared sobriety for the night seem like an action that placed them on opposing sides ? it was a dilemma that she was entirely overthinking. the solution ? a small sip from the cup. just enough to be deemed polite. “ smart, ” the praise mumbled into the cup moreso than at blythe, while she was trying to figure out what exactly had been handed to her. “ that’s smart. are you still going to karaoke and . . . all that ? i think it’s just karaoke. i don’t know why i said and. ”

[sundrifts]

the  word  karaoke  does  something  to  her  posture  immediately  -  spine  lengthening,  chin  tipping  up,  shoulders  rolling  back  like  she's  already  found  her  mark  under  imaginary  stage  lights.  a  grin  spreads  slow  and  wide  across  her  face  and  she  flips  her  hair  back  over  one  shoulder  with  a  flourish  way  too  dramatic, but ultimately, very blythe-coded.  “ duh,  obviously ! ”  she  says,  as  if  she's  scandalised  that  it  was  even  a  question  -  like  the  very  idea  of  doubting  her  devotion  to  karaoke  was  somehow  wounding.  “ i've  been  practising  all  day.  all  day,  liberty.  my  agnetha  fältskog  impersonation  is  devastating.  genuinely,  it  should  be  illegal. ” 

her  gaze  slides  back  to  the  other as she turns the question around:  “ what  about  you ? ”  she  asks,  “ what  are  you  gonna  sing ?  because  -  okay,  hear  me  out.  we  could  sooooo  pull  off  chiquitita  together,  you  and  me. ”  blythe  taps  two  fingers  against  her  own  temples,  punctuating  the  offer  like  it's  a  contract  waiting  to  be  signed.  “ the  universe  is  telling  me  that  it's  fate. ”

[pixiiewings]

　　♡　　a soft nod followed the mention of tilly’s name .  nice, neutral, safe. look how well they were doing with this civil conversation thing ! “ oh yeah, i saw tilly. she looks gorgeous. ” of course. cancelling an entire party because she didn’t look as perfect as she was aiming for ? seemed like a totally tilly thing to do, honestly.

her eyes followed blythe’s fingers up to the black halo. there’s a compliment about the other woman looking gorgeous too that died somewhere in the mention of musa. attention simply snapped away too fast. luckily for them both, blythe is quick with the diversion.

well, something close to a diversion. considering the delicate tone georgia’s name had been delivered in, it seemed more like a caution to slow down for road works rather than street closed. they were going to talk about it. slowly, tiptoeing on egg shells — blythe wanted to talk about it. at least, blythe was going to talk about it. “ i feel, ” the word drawn out. smile appearing just as she had rehearsed. it was useless armour against the woman that knew her best, but maybe it was just for everyone else’s sake. “ like we’re at a party. don’t look so serious, bee ! ” there was a part of georgia that wanted to take that sorry and run with it. push any memory of the slight away and just have her best friend back. would they even still call each other that ? she looked down at the cup, frowning when she saw it empty. or perhaps at the topic she had been trying so hard to dodge. “ i’m gonna get a refill. ” the invitation to follow unspoken, but she did look over her shoulder to see if blythe was coming. baby steps.

[sundrifts]

she  watches  the  deflection  land  exactly  where  georgia  aims  it  -  watches  the  smile  go  up  like  a  shield,  watches  bee  get  thrown  out  like  a  peace  offering.  it's  not  like  blythe's  spent  the  last  two  hours  rehearsing  an  apology  in  the  mirror  for  exactly  this  moment,  like  she  didn't  drag  it  up  herself,  on  purpose,  at  a  party,  because  some  pathetic  part  of  her  thought  maybe  doing  it  here  -  loud  music,  low  stakes,  nobody  watching  too  closely  -  would  make  it  easier  to  say sorry. 

“ right. ”  a  beat.  “ yeah,  no,  you're  right,  terrible  timing. ”  the  wings  shift  slightly  against  her  back  as  she  straightens  up,  and  for  a  second  she  looks  like  exactly  what  the  costume  promised  -  something  that  used  to  have  somewhere  holy  to  be  and  doesn't  anymore.  she  could  let  it  go.  that's  clearly  the  offer  on  the  table  -  a  chance  to  go  back  to  being  a  happy  little  unit  for  the  rest  of  the  night  and  deal  with  the  actual  thing  never.  “ my  mistake. ”  she  looks  down  at  her  own  cup  like  it  might  have  an  answer  written  on  the  rim  somewhere.  spoiler  alert:  it  doesn't.  the  ice  is  long  gone  and  she  thinks  that  this  is  probably  a  metaphor  for  something.

“ okay… ”  blythe  says,  already  pushing  up  off  wherever  she'd  rooted  herself  for  the  last  hour  to  follow  the  other.  “ i'm  not  gonna  make  you  talk  about  it.  i  just  - nevermind ! ”  she  stops  herself  before  don't  want  you  to  walk  away  thinking  i  don't  care  turns  into  something  too  big  for  the drinks  table.  “ how're you and william going ? you two look cute. ”

[antdesilvs]

despite the warmth of the room, anthony feels his skin go cold and clammy. blythe is what? he stares at her, mouth slightly agape, frozen. what was he supposed to say? congratulations? why would she tell him, of all-- "what the fuck, blythe," he sputters, more of a statement than a question. he shakes his head in distress. ant opens his mouth to say more but doesn't get the chance. because now blythe is looking at him head-on, and there's something about the look in her eyes that keeps him from saying anything else.

okay, he had that coming, but it doesn't stop anthony from flinching at the force of blythe's words. still, he feels like he has to defend himself in some way, so he does: "you didn't necessarily give me a warning before you told georgia! that was first domino, blythe. you started this trainwreck, not me." he pauses, crosses his arms over his chest as he looks back towards the dance floor. "but you're right, i'm not worth it. so leave me the fuck alone."

[sundrifts]

“ telling  musa, ”  blythe  grinds  his  name  past  her  teeth  like  it  could  cost  her  something,  “ is  totally  NOT  the  same  as  telling  georgia.  musa  is  directly  impacted  by  us  being  shitty;  we  did  something  to  him.  you  can't  actually  think  those  are  equivalent.  like  -  you  can't  actually  believe  that. ”  her  mouth  pulls  down  at  the  corners.  exaggerated,  like  a  sad,  little  circus  clown.  perhaps  the  most  theatrical  frown  in  recorded  human  history !  “ i  didn't  realise  you  were  so  tetchy  tonight… are  you  having  a  bad  night,  babe ? ”

blythe looks  at  him  the  way  you  might  look  at  a  neighbourhood  stray  who'd  just  popped  by  for  attention - pitying.  she  clicks  her  tongue  once  and  looks  off  to  the  side.  “ because  i  am.  i'm  stone  cold  fucking sober  watching  everyone  else  have  the  time  of  their  lives,  and  you're  the  reason  my  night  tastes  like  water.  so  if  you're  going  to  stand  there  and  tell  me  to  leave  you  alone  -  ”  she  gestures,  open-palmed,  at  the  entire  sprawling  room  around  them,  “ literally  anywhere  else  exists  if  you  don't  wanna check me out. ”

[knewitalls]

with a final clearance from his doctors for his concussion, william could finally enjoy some of the rowdier aspects of parties... in theory. the drinking, the loud music, the flashing lights - about ten minutes in the presence of it all, he had to admit that he hadn't missed any of it. which was why he'd settled into a spot on a couch long ago, an e-book pulled up on his phone now that no one could yell at him for using it.

after being stabbed and hit in the face a few weeks ago, he wasn't exactly in a party mood. but where his anonymous tormentor declared he must go, he did (begrudgingly). dressed in white, with some of georgia's glitter having rubbed off on him, he blended into the crowd nicely enough that he'd only gotten a couple of second glances thus far (for being notably accident prone and not invited, probably). but it was william that had to glance twice when he realized who had been sitting down next to him for at least a couple of minutes.

his girlfriend's it's complicated status best friend.

"no thanks," he murmured in response to blythe's offering. if his refusal sounded tentative, it was only because he wasn't quite sure how to approach a conversation with her when he knew more than he was likely meant to.

"that seems like a wise choice, with everything that's happened," he added on after a moment's consideration, deciding that feigned ignorance would likely be the best approach. his words therefore were not a statement about her poor choice of hookup partners, but more on the fact that the last time everyone had gathered together, there has been several stabbings, beatings, and hospitalizations.

it was kind of sad that the easiest conversation topic he could reach for was their number one mutual hater, but... that was just the life they seemed to lead these days.

"i mean, if our masked friend is here, it's probably best to be on high alert."

[sundrifts]

she  takes  the  cup  back  without  a  second  though  and  sets  it  down  somewhere  beside  her  that  isn't  her  problem  anymore, tilting  her  head  to  look  at  him  properly. william,  georgia's  william,  seemed to look a  little  like  he'd  rather  be  anywhere  else  on  earth. which,  honestly,  same !  “ i'm  glad  to  see  you're  still  kicking. ”  blythe  pulls  one  knee  up,  elbow  resting  against  it,  the  black  wings  at  her  back  rustling  with  the  shift  in  weight.  the  masked  friend  comment  earns  him  a  sideways  look…  something  considering.

“ ehh  - ”  cue a  shrug,  one  shoulder  rolling,  “ it's a party. surely they're taking the night off and having some fun. ”  quickly,  she  scans  the  room  -  making  note  of  the  people  moving  through  it,  laughing,  spilling  drinks,  none  of  them  looking  particularly  homicidal.  “ guess it  could  be  me. ”  jokes !  “ or  it  could  be  you.  maybe  you're  tag-teaming  it  with  someone  else... maybe you're another billy loomis. ”  she  says,  shifting  her  body  to  stare  him  down  with  something  almost  like  a  smile  pulling  at  the  corner  of  her  mouth.  “ and  we're  just  sitting  here  having  a  very  normal  conversation  about  it ! ”

[pixiiewings]

　　♡　　georgia had kept the news of blythe and anthony close to her chest .  after all, her best friend had asked her not to tell anyone. even if it was hard to see that same person when she looked at the other woman, they were still two people she never wanted to see hurt. so she didn’t tell anyone. exception granted to william, who unfortunately had to deal with georgia afterwards. without that bit of context, it would have been awfully hard to explain why she had stopped speaking to two of the closest people to her — so she didn’t. they were still a happy little unit as far as anyone else was concerned. a very carefully worded text to eliza when she asked if blythe was still mad. she wasn’t technically lying to anyone !

it also meant that when she looked up to the sound of someone clearing their throat, to see that someone was blythe . . . she couldn’t just excuse herself immediately. wouldn’t be the one to cause a scene. they stood next to each other, black and white. it looked coordinated. on a better day, georgia would have asked if this was some kind of soul tie telepathy. now the words died in her throat behind a tight lipped smile.

there was no hesitation in accepting the cup that had been extended toward her. a quiet thanks mumbled against the plastic already brought to her lips. it’s tilted back, finishing the drink in one go. preparation for a conversation. an excuse to leave without having one. georgia didn’t even know. “ yeah, that’s probably wise. ” technically, it would be for all of them. except she wasn’t thinking about a tag appearance. instead of looking at blythe, georgia studied the bottom of the empty cup. “ have you seen, like, anyone else around ? ” just please don’t say anthony.

[sundrifts]

blythe  watches  the  other  drain  the  cup  swiftly  -  watches  the  bob  of  her  throat,  the  way  she  tilts  the  drink  back  like  she  needs  something  to  occupy  her  mouth  so  she  doesn't  have  to  use  it  for  talking.  blythe  knows  that  move.  she's  done  that  move.  it  is  a  move  that  belongs  exclusively  to  people  bracing  themselves.

great.

“ anyone  else… ? ”  she  repeats  like  a  question,  like  she's  tasting  the  words  to  check  if  they're  safe.  her  gaze  drifts  out  over  the  crowd  and  she  does  a  very  deliberate  sweep  of  the  room  that  has  very  little  to  do  with  actually  looking  for  anyone - more  like  she  just  needs  somewhere  else  to  put  her  eyes  for  a  second.  “ uh.  i  saw  tilly  earlier,  obviously. ”  she  tucks  a  strand  of  dark  hair  back  from  her  face,  fingers  brushing  the  black  feathered  wings  of  her  halo  in  the  process.  “ musa  might  be  here ?  i  haven't  actually  tracked  him  down  yet. ”

she  lets  that  sit  for  exactly  one  second  before  the  thing  she  was  not  going  to  say  climbs  right  up  her  throat  anyway.  “ georgia, ”  it's  said  the  same  way  you  might  put  a  hand  on  someone's  arm.  gently.  “ i  know  things  are  - ”  blythe  stops,  then  starts  again.  “ i  know  how  you  feel  about  - ”  and  there  it  is,  the  part  where  her  jaw  tightens  just  briefly,  a  tell  she's  never  quite  managed  to  iron  out.  “ and  i'm  not  going  to  stand  here  and  pretend  like  i  handled  that  well.  because  i  didn't. ”  she's  not  good  at  this.  she's  brilliant  at  a  lot  of  things,  but  apologies  are  NOT  on  the  list.  “ i'm  really sorry  i  kept  it  from  you. ”

[rihfenty]

CAMILA MENDES Photographed by Cibelle Levi for Bvlgari (2026)

[antdesilvs]

at first, the voice didn’t register in anthony’s head. he’d already had a little bit too much to drink at this point, set on nursing a bottle of water for the next half hour before he got going again. when he wandered back downstairs, he hadn’t paid attention to where he was going or who he was bumping into. but now, looking over at the owner of the voice, he realizes he should’ve been.

blythe. she probably doesn’t realize it’s him, right? otherwise, she’d been chewing his head off. okay, maybe he was still a little too traumatized by musa’s reaction to his confession, but still. blythe hadn’t been too happy when he informed her that he would be telling musa.

“no, thanks,” anthony calls over the music, trying to keep his voice even but still loud enough to be heard, “i’ve had enough already.” a pause, ant looking out at the crowd of sweating bodies on the dance floor before chancing a glance over at blythe. “why aren’t you drinking?”

[sundrifts]

“ oh. ”  that's  all  she  offers  at  first.  just  that.  a  single  syllable.  she  looks  back  out  at  the  crowd,  cup  lowering  to  her  knee,  and  lets  a  beat  pass.  two.  three.  “ you  haven't  heard ? ”  blythe  says  it  lightly - the  same  way  you  might  remark  on  the  weather  or  the  length  of  a  queue  at  disneyland.  one  hand  lifts  to  press  flat  against  her  stomach.  “ i'm  expecting. ”  she  doesn't  look  at  him  and  instead watches  some  girl  in  a  horned  headband  spill  something  on  the  sleeve  of  a  boy  who  doesn't  even  flinch.  the  bass  rolls  through  the  floor  again  and  blythe  counts  two  more  seconds  in  her  head  before  she  lets  the  corner  of  her  mouth  pull.  then  finally,  she  snorts  and  shakes  her  head.  “ sike. ”

blythe  finally  turns  to  look  at  him  properly  now,  and  her  laugh  doesn't  quite  reach  the  rest  of  her  face.  in  fact,  the  amusement  drains  off  her  features  just  as  fast  as  it  came.  “ actually, y'know what ? fuck you ! ”  she  yells  over  the  music,  “ you  gave  me  no  heads  up before  fucking  me  over.  you  just  -  you didn't  think  to  even  text  me !  didn't  think  -  oh  hey,  blythe,  i  know  i  had  my  dick  inside  you  but  i'm  about  to  make  that  everyone's  problem  -  just  FYI ! ”  she  stops  and  presses  her  fingers  to  her  mouth  for  a  second.  her  eyes  are  going  glassy  and  she  hates  it,  because  she  is  not  doing  this  here.  she  is  NOT  crying  at  tilly's  party  in  a  corset  because  of  anthony  de  silva.  “ i'm  not  -  ”  she  pauses,  then  starts  again.  “ y'know what ? you're not worth it. ”

[intcgrities]

It was nice of Blythe to think that keeping out of it was the way to avoid this, when keeping out of it was exactly what got William hurt in the first place. And, maybe they'd been stewing on this a bit since finding out other people got tasks on New Year's at the Valentine's Day party, wouldn't that mean Blythe had already participated? Since she never got a punishment?

"Funny," Justice said, tone indicating it was anything but, "when I kept my head down, someone got pushed off a cliff."

They didn't say their next thought, that Blythe was smart enough to know cooperation was the way to keep herself safe. If that was how she'd managed to go unscathed through this thing so far? Well, they didn't want to know. Not when they knew for a fact Blythe was undoubtedly a target. Justice's eyes shifted from looking directly toward Blythe to fixating on a streamer on the ground, sticky heel-prints keeping it in place.

The bunny pajamas at Liza's party was hardly a comparison to stab wounds or being wrongfully imprisoned, but it wasn't nothing. For a girl who valued appearances and status, that had to have hurt on top of whatever bullshit was going on with Liza and Musa. It was impossible for Tag to have nothing to work with when it came to a business owner, destroying Blythe's reputation would fundamentally destroy any of her financial stability. Though she'd said she was poor, the lingerie she was wearing hardly gave off Spirit Halloween, though maybe it wasn't Agent Provocateur.

[sundrifts]

her  mind  does  something  unhelpful  -  conjures,  unbidden,  the  image  of  herself  at  the  edge  of  something  high  and  unforgiving.  a  long  drop,  the  sudden  stop.  she  thinks  about  bones,  specifically,  the  way  they  sound  when  they  don't  hold together.  getting  pushed  off  the  jungle  gym  in  third  grade  had  taught  her  early  and  efficiently  that  she  cannot,  in  fact,  rock  a  cast  -  blythe  had  tried  and  failed,  it  had  been  a  very  bad  six  weeks.  she  would  like  to  keep  all  of  her  bones  where  they  currently  are.  in  fact,  she  would  like  to  keep  all  of  her  everything  where  it  currently  is.

she exhales  loudly  over  the  music,  and  the  drink  makes  another  slow  rotation  in  her  hand.  “ what  happened  to  will  is  different. ”  she  doesn't  elaborate  on  how,  exactly.  mostly  because  she  isn't  sure  she  could  without  the  argument  folding  in  on  itself,  and  blythe  has  never  been  especially  interested  in  watching  herself  lose.  “ i  don't  know  why  we're  even  talking  about  them. ”  the  word  them  lands  with  a  faint  distaste,  like  she'd  rather  not  give  tag  the  dignity  of  a  name.  “ we  shouldn't  be  letting  some  loser ruin  a  perfectly  good  party. ”  she  straightens  slightly,  rolls  her  shoulder  back,  and  lets  her  attention  drift  out  across  the  room  with  the  slow  sweep  of  someone  changing  the  channel.  her  eyes  narrow  a  little, taking  inventory  of  who  was  down  in  hell  with  them.  “ so… ”  she  tilts  her  chin  in  justice's  direction  without  quite  looking  over,  a  smile  pulling  at  the  corner  of  her  brims.  “ you  got  your  sights set on  anyone  tonight? ”

[intcgrities]

Blythe's demeanor was too calm for Justice's comfort; they were expecting something minimizing, or maybe a little cruel. Blue eyes narrowed slightly at the compliment, and they were almost curious if she meant it. Had breaking Musa's heart again made her reflect on her choices? When he'd told Justice about Anthony's confession, their jaw had dropped - it confirmed their little theory about those two, but it was also a complete diversion from how they'd imagined Musa finding out. ( None of the options in Justice's mind involved Anthony or Blythe telling him the truth with no prompt. )

This whole ' shared bully ' thing this strange group had was prompting everyone to be more forthcoming, or so it seemed. "Don't make it weird."

Blythe's voice called them back to attention, and they tilted their chin with an eyebrow raise, a knowing look that said 'I won't forget this' - or, at least they hoped that's what it said.

Her next words were so matter-of-fact that Justice furrowed their brow - what the hell was going on? Was this what Tag meant about someone acting suspicious? No, fuck - they promised themself they wouldn't go down this road.

"Literally and figuratively," Justice added to the other's comment about keeping her nose clean.

They couldn't, however, not go down this road. "Gotta keep ourselves sharp at these things now," they said, taking a small sip. "William can only get injured in so many more ways."

[sundrifts]

something  flickers  across  blythe's  face  at  the  literally  and  figuratively  comment  -  a  brief  acknowledgement,  though  she  doesn't  confirm  or  deny  it.  instead,  she  choses  to  move  on…  the  same  way  you  let  a  comment  slide when  you  know  the  other  person  is  right  and  you'd  rather  die  than  say  so.  william's  name,  though.  well,  that  lands  differently.

her  eyes  cut  back  to  justice,  something  sharpening  behind  them.  “ i'm  just  glad  it's  not  me. whoever  this  tag  person  is,  whatever  they  want  -  i  have  zero  interest  in  finding  out  firsthand. ”  she  reaches  for  her  drink  then,  the  one  she'd  set  aside,  and  turns  it  slowly  in  her  hand  without  bringing  it  to  her  lips.  something  to  do  with  her  fingers.  something  to  keep  her  looking  unbothered.  “ the  way  i  see  it, ”  she  says,  “ if  i  keep  my  head  down  and  give  them  nothing  to  work  with  -  ”  a  small  pause,  like  she's  turning  the  logic  over  one  more  time  just  to  make  sure  it  holds,  “ then  maybe  they  leave  me  alone.  and  if  that's  the  case,  then  i  intend  to  return  the  favour  very  peacefully. ”

[intcgrities]

Justice hadn't even noticed they'd parked themself right next to Blythe when they first found a spot to step away from the crowded dance floor in hell. Someone had earlier pointed out it was so funny they were dressed like Jacob Elordi because isn't he, like, tall? and they did not, actually, consider it funny, or even ironic. So they'd taken themself out of the situation and navigated through wings and pointy tails and light-up horn headbands that had been long since abandoned to the night.

That's why when Blythe's hand went out in front of her, drink offered, she had to blink twice to re-center herself back into the world before clocking who it was offering her a beverage. Before answering, she gave Blythe an obvious once-over, a grin playing on her lips. Justice thought they were being risque by wearing a light fabric white tank with nothing under it as a full shirt, but the brunette... she had certainly dressed for the occasion. As she was wont to do. And Justice appreciated it every time, even if it did mean she was going to have to go through the motions of a conversation with someone whose main priority in life seemed to be chaos.

"No, thank you," Justice said, holding up the can of THC beverage they'd opened. Sober Blythe? In these times? Brave. Also... probably suspicious. They continued: "Needless to say, you look... as always, very wow. You didn't dress up for me, did you?"

It seemed to annoy Blythe when Justice acted as though her catching the podcast meant she was a fan, so they'd decided to lean into the bit. Maybe they were her favorite podcaster, maybe she was just really trying to get their attention, either option would probably send Blythe down a self-indulgent rant that ended in a 'plus I heard' about any number of people at this party.

[sundrifts]

blythe  glances  down  at  the  can  in  justice's  hand,  then  back  up,  and  pulls  her  arm  back  without  ceremony  -  setting  the  drink  aside  like  something  she's  already  forgotten  about.  “ for  you ? ”  cue a  quiet  exhale  that  almost  passes  for  a  laugh.  “ in  your  dreams. ”  she  would  normally  take this time to find  some  small  and  precise  way  to  try to make  justice  feel  like  the  butt  of  a  joke,  but  tonight  something  in  her  is  sitting  quieter,  and  her  eyes  do  a  passover  of  the  other.  “ you  look good too,  i  guess. ”  the  comment  is  genuine,  in  the  way  that  blythe  is  only  ever  genuine  when  she  hasn't  planned  to  be.  she  catches  herself  almost  immediately and fixes  justice  with  a  look.  “ don't  make  it  weird. ”

her  gaze  drifts  back  out  to  the  party  -  to  all  the  halos  and  horns,  to  the  people  moving  their  bodies  to  the  music  -  and  she  rolls  her  shoulder  in  a  slow  shrug.  “ i  make  terrible, awful choices  when  i'm  drunk. ”  there's  no  shame  in  her  words,  and  no  performance  either.  it's  just  like  she's  reading  from  a  document  she's  reviewed  many  times  and  has  finally  accepted  as  evidence.  “ and  tonight  i'm  really,  really  trying  to  keep my nose clean. ”

[sundrifts]

LOCATION  :  tilly's party. OPEN  STARTER  :  uncapped.

the  music  in HELL  pulses  through  the  walls  like  the  house  itself  has  a  damn heartbeat  -  bass  rolling  under  the  floors,  curling  up  through  the  soles  of  her  heels -  and  blythe  has  been  sitting  with  it  for  the  better  part  of  an  hour  now,  doing  very  little.  watching  people.  nursing  the  same  drink  she'd  poured  when  she  first  arrived,  condensation  slow  around  her  fingers,  the  ice  long  since  surrendered  to  the  warmth  of  the  room.

in  typical  blythe  fashion,  she  looks  like  she's  dressed  for  a  softcore  bdsm  event  she'd  been  personally  invited  to  by  the  devil.  all  black  -  corset  laced  tight,  fishnet  stockings,  black  feathery  wings  pinned  at  her  back  like  something  clipped  mid-flight,  and  a  halo  sits  nestled  in  the  dark  waves  of  her  hair.  a  fallen  angel.  she'd  thought  it  was  a  bit  on-the-nose  when  she  put  it  together.  and  then  she  thought  -  well,  yeah,  duhh  !  that's  the  point.

she  clears  her  throat,  turns  her  head  toward  the  person  beside  her,  and  extends  her  cup  outward.  an  offering  more  than  a  question.  " d'ya  want  this? "  cue  a  beat  while  the  cogs  in  her  brain  begin  to  turn.  " …  i  think  i'm  staying  sober  tonight. "

[pixiiewings]

　　♡　　“ i wouldn’t , ” georgia insisted .  “ you know me. you’re supposed to know me better than that. ” the certainty in her voice replaced with a desperate plea. supposed to. wanted her to. it wasn’t as simple as she made it sound, but georgia had always been heart over mind. “ i wouldn’t. i don’t. ” even with the part of her that blythe held, more than she had kept for herself, fractured — she couldn’t. “ i know how great he is. okay, i get not telling liza when she, like, hated him. or yourself if you were someone different. for the same reason. ” or pretty much anyone. “ but me ? maybe, ” she started, stumbling over her own shaky breath. “ maybe if you had talked to me about it, you wouldn’t have had to feel like that. it didn’t have to be a big thing with el and amelia. ”

amelia. a year ago. best friend . . . ex. “ and it would have been fine, “ she repeated, like if she saying it enough times would make it so. “ and maybe you guys could have actually become really good friends from it. you guys wouldn’t have had to keep being mean to each other and you wouldn’t have been mean to eliza tonight — ” this week ? timeline unconfirmed. “ because you feel bad. ” musa, however, well that was something she couldn’t wrap up in a neat little bow.

a problem for anthony, if you asked her. not because georgia was picking any side. both of them had hurt her. betrayed her each time she said the other’s name and received nothing but coldness. small, unnoticed. at least, explained away with good faith. all hitting her at once. death by a thousand cuts. but musa was anthony’s best friend. he owed him the explanation more so than an ex. “ i know, ” mumbled in response to the apology. she didn’t. how could she ? she had to beg for it, but blythe had granted her request, georgia couldn’t argue.

[sundrifts]

blythe’s  shoulders  slumped  even  further,  if  that  was  possible,  as  georgia’s  words  washed  over  her.  the  pain  in  her  friend’s  voice  was  a  physical  ache,  a  mirror  to  the  one  in  her  own  chest.  “ this  is  like  the  worst  thing  that  i’ve  ever  done,”  she  confessed,  her  voice  barely  audible.  “ i  thought  that  if  i  felt  this  way,  you  would  have  to  too.  that  you’d  see  me  as...  as  someone  disgusting. ” 

quickly, she threw  her  hands  up  in  frustration,  a  sharp,  jerky  motion  that  spoke  volumes  about  her  current  state  -  she’s  jumping  from  one  emotion  to  the  next.  “ i’m  not  being  mean  to  eliza  because  i  feel  bad !  i  don’t care what she  thinks  about  me ! ”  the  words  were  a  bitter,  angry  snap,  a  defensive  reaction  to  a  pain  she  couldn’t  quite  articulate.  “ i’m  angry  at  eliza  for  lying  to  me. ”  the  betrayal  was  a  fresh  wound,  one  that  stung  almost  as  badly  as  georgia’s  disappointment  in  her. 

she  doubled  over,  one  hand  clutching  her  stomach,  which  was  still  doing  somersaults.  the  combination  of  alcohol  and  emotion  was  a  toxic  cocktail,  and  she  could  feel  the  contents  of  her  stomach  threatening  to  make  an  appearance.  “ you  should  head back. i  want  to  be  alone  when  i  heave. ”  the  confession  was  a  pathetic,  miserable  thing,  but  it  was  all  she  had  left:  she  wanted  to  be  alone,  to  wallow  in  her  own  self-loathing  without  an  audience.

[sweetfridays]

♡ CAMILA MENDES wired

[strcngth]

musa took in a breath, humming, "i still love you too, blythe." it was impossible not to, after all they'd seen each other through, after how in love he had been. he was afraid that he may never feel that way about someone else again. "liza and i are close, but not like that." he told her, "i've just been trying to be there for her with all this shit." and being around her made him feel better, safer, but that wasn't something he could say out loud ( especially not to blythe ) or even just to himself.

"it's not stupid." when she moved closer and squeezed his arm, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders — first of all, she was probably pretty cold in just her pajamas. "i don't think i've ever looked at anyone the way i looked at you." musa murmured, "our relationship is... it's the only serious romantic relationship i've ever been in. i don't know what love even feels like outside of a what we had." it was his only point of reference. and even if he fell in love again, he knew it would be different than his relationship with blythe. you never forget your first love, that much was true, but it was especially hard to forget when your first love was blythe gonçalves. "and, for what it's worth, a relationship is the last thing on my mind right now," he admitted, "too much other bullshit keeps comin' our way."

[sundrifts]

musa’s  reassuring  words  settled  over  her,  spreading  neosporin  on  a  wound  she  hadn’t  realised  was  still  open.  his  arm  around  her  shoulders  was  a  familiar  weight,  a  comfort  she  hadn’t  known  she  needed  until  it  was  there,  pulling  her  back  into  his  gravity.  she  leaned  into  him,  letting  her  head  rest  against  the  solid  warmth  of  his  chest  for  a  moment,  her  eyes  closing  as  she  absorbed  his  confession. 

“ so  what  you’re  saying, ”  her  fingers,  which  were now intertwined  behind  his  back,  began  to  trace  idle  patterns  against  the  fabric  of  his  shirt. “ is  that  i’ve  completely  and  irrevocably  ruined  you  for  everyone  else ?  that  i’ve  set  the  bar  so  impossibly  high  that  no  one  else  will  ever  compare ? ”  she  tilted  her  head  back  to  look  up  at  him,  grin  wide.  “ i  think i might just want  that  on  my  tombstone. ”

[silcntfigvre]

the second blythe spoke, nic could not help the way their eyebrows raised. possibly in judgement, definitely in surprise. while nic was often not one to turn down a drink, this didn't feel like the kind of night to be drunk off your ass. clearly, whatever had happened earlier was too much, and blythe needed a bit of a distraction. "nice." nic said, watching as the plastic cup was tossed into the fire.

okay, so it was going to be that kind of night.

"yeah, seems like dionysus is favoring you tonight for sure." standing up, nic walked over to blythe and held her hand out for the girl to take. she may feel warm, but that didn't meant she was warm. in fact, she was probably the least prepared out of them all. "it's black. which means it matches anything, so you don't have to worry about it clashing. come on, we'll get it together." nic wasn't exactly the most stylish person in town, but who cares. hopefully not blythe. they really couldn't handle a text in the morning with her complaining that nic forced her into some ugly, uncle looking hoodie.

[sundrifts]

dark lashes  fluttered against  blythe’s skin as  her  head  lolled  to  the  side.  a  pout,  plush  and  dramatic,  bloomed  on  her  lips  at  the  mention  of  the  greek  god.  “ ew,  no,  not  him ! ”  she  allowed  nic  to  pull  her  up, fingers  laced  through  theirs  with  a  surprising,  loose-limbed  trust.  “ dionysus  is  all,  like,  about  crazy  parties  and  then  you  wake  up  and  you’re,  like,  a  dolphin  or  something. ” 

“ persephone  is  way  better ! ”  she  insisted,  her  voice  swelling  with  a  tipsy  passion.  “ she’s,  like,  the  queen  of  the  underworld  for  half  the  year,  but  she’s  also,  like,  the  goddess  of  spring ?  goals. ”  she  swayed,  a dance  of  inebriation,  her  free  hand  gesturing  vaguely  toward  the  star-dusted  sky.  “ or  aphrodite.  i  mean,  she’s,  like,  the  literal  goddess  of  love  and  looking  super  hot  all  the  time.  so  iconic. ”  her  heel  caught  on  a  gnarled  root  hidden  in  the  grass,  sending  a  little  tremor  through  her  frame  as  she  stumbled,  yet she still tries her  best  to keep  her  pace.  “ i  like  black,  so  thank  you !!! ”  the  exclamation  was  a  bright,  bubbly  burst  of  sincerity.  “ honestly,  if  i  knew  this  was  gonna  be  a  party,  i  would’ve  worn  something  a  little  better… i look like a two-year-old.”

[pixiiewings]

　　♡　　“ a y — a year ago ? ”  georgia didn’t really know what she had been expecting when she asked, but a year had been so out of the realm of possibility until it had left blythe’s lips. it pre dated all of this. the excuse she had been ready to give them. everyone is a little crazy right now. maybe they had been told to do it on new year’s eve like other people had been given tasks. pretty weird of tag, but so was murder ! or if it had been something they chose to do, they were under strict instructions to not tell georgia. nope ! every out she had tried to give them crumbled. “ you’re meant to tell me when you make a mistake. it’s what best friends are for. ” georgia told blythe everything. told anthony everything, too. assumed they were doing the same. had no reason to believe they weren’t. “ it would have been fine. ” maybe even something they could laugh at later, if it really had been under the circumstances blythe described.

valentine’s day, when he had taken wren on a date. georgia sat on his bed and they spoke about nerves for their first dates like they were sixteen again. how long had it been since blythe was in it ? did wren know ? it almost made georgia feel bad for being upset. until the sound of blythe’s voice saying his name hit her between the ribs. not just his name, formal like he was on trial. or someone meeting him for the first time reading his name off a sheet of paper. ant. a familiarity to it. of course, it was just georgia spiralling. it sounded no different than any other time she had said his name. “ you could have had anyone. ” the both could have. “ you’re smart. and gorgeous. and funny. you could’ve had anyone. why, blythe ? why him ? ” she had considered musa. at least, after a year and a few weeks, she had.

but georgia ? even standing in front of her, “ you haven’t even said you’re sorry, ” she pointed out, the last word catching in her throat. “ you’ve lied to me for a year, you can’t do it one more time ? ”

[sundrifts]

each  word was a  precise  hit  that  chipped  away  at  what  little  composure  she  had  left.  georgia’s  hurt  was  a  palpable  thing,  a  suffocating  blanket  of  disappointment  that  made  it  hard  to  breathe.  blythe  looked  small,  utterly  deflated,  her  shoulders  curling  inward  as  if  she  could  make  herself  disappear into the dirt.

“ i  did  want  to  tell  you, ” she  claimed,  her  voice  cracking, “ but i  felt  so  bad  about  myself  over  it,  i  didn’t  want  you  to  feel  the  same  way. ”  yeah, which is why she went back for round two ! “ i  felt  like  a  total  whore  and  i didn’t want you  to see me as that. that would  fucking  kill  me,  gia. ”  the  confession  was a  desperate  plea  for  understanding  that  she  knew  she  didn’t  deserve. 

georgia’s  question,  ‘why  him ?’,  echoed  in  the  hollow  of  her  chest.  why  him,  indeed.  she  didn’t  have  an  answer  that  would  make  any  sense,  not  to  georgia,  not  even  to  herself.  but  before  she  could  come up with an excuse,  the  final,  devastating  observation  hit.  you  haven’t  even  said  you’re  sorry. blythe’s  head  snapped  up,  her  eyes  wide  with  a  panic. “ of  course  i’m  sorry, ” she  choked  out,  the  words  thick  with  a  fresh  wave  of  tears.  “ god,  i  am  so  fucking  sorry. ”  the  apology  was  a  frantic,  messy  thing,  tumbling  out  of  her  with  all  the  grace  of  a  car  crash. “ i should’ve trusted you. ”