Hercules had invited Melody to the Next Town Over for a very specific reason. One that he hadn’t told her, because he had this weird idea that if he told her, she would laugh in his face. Well, it wasn’t such a weird idea. He kind of wanted to laugh in his own face.
Still, even more badly than he wanted to laugh in his own face, he wanted this ridiculous idea that he had concocted. Nothing else made sense to him at this point. He loved Georgette and by some miracle: she loved him too. This was the next logical step, wasn’t it? It was what normal people did.
Even if Hercules wasn’t normal. He wasn’t even a people, really. Georgette wasn’t really either...anymore.
Hercules had always secretly dreamed of it. Now he had saved the money for it. The time had come to just...do it.
When they got to the Next Town Over, Hercules immediately angled them towards a jewelry shoppe. It was a hole in the wall, nothing like one of the big fancy stores like you might find in New York, but Hercules liked it. He thought it made it unique. Just like Georgette.
He didn’t say anything to Melody as they entered the store, not immediately anyway. He just kind of glanced at her and offered her a sheepish smile before meandering towards all the glittering jewels.
Georgette was in Mad Hatter’s cafe waiting for her order of coffee to be completed. While in the midst of this waiting, her eyes were casually looking over the far end corner of the cafe by the window sills where a familiar brunette was seated.
This poor brunette had painful awkward misery crossing over her eys and with good reason.
What Georgette was watching was dreadful. Seriously, who the fuck taught this guy how to date?
Melody had texted her not too long ago asking for an emergency favor that the blonde simply couldn’t pass up and thank the heavens that she wouldn’t because this date that she was about to crash should have already died hours ago. Melody was far too nice, if it had been Georgette in her situation she would’ve gotten up and left without even so much as an explanation.
Alas, Melody wasn’t Georgette. Her coffee order was finally done as the blonde took a hold of it, offering her thanks. She then walked herself over to where Melody was seated sliding herself right into the seat beside her friend with the most angelic of smiles.
Georgette now directed her attention to the ‘date’ in front of her. “Hi, a pleasure to meet you.” Not really, Georgette didn’t care. “I’m so terribly sorry for interrupting this... well what I supposed should be a date.” More like a horror story. “But I am going to have to steal Melody from you as there is an emergency she’s currently needed for, see, my nail appointment has been pushed up.”
Completely disregarding Melody’s date now, Georgette turned to brunette with a bright and proud smirk on her lips. “Ready?”
ATTINA:
Attina had cooked a nice salmon and tofu (for the veggies) dinner for everyone. It was almost easier to wrangle everyone now, because there were so few of them. Andrina and Adella were such big presences that dinners felt so small without them. But, she’d already called them both and told them that she was moving. It had been nice to slide into it that way, but they were also the oldest. She had no idea how the rest of her sisters were going to react.
It was nice to have Panic there for moral support. And her dad, of course. Who was aware that tonight was going to be the night.
Attina was not nervous that they were going to be angry with her. She was actually nervous of the opposite. That people would want her to leave. That they would tell her that why did it matter, why was she making a big deal of this?
She waited until the dinner was winding down. One of the sisters actually got up to put her plate up because Attina was procrastinating.
“Wait—“ she barked, when the sister stood. “Uh, please, sit. I, er—we—“ she glanced at Panic. “Have something to tell you.”
Attina took another breath. “PanicandIaremovingtoAustralia.”
AQUATA:
Aquata almost choked on her salmon. “Australia?” she repeated.
This was the thing: Aquata was learning to let go of the idea that all of her sisters would stay in the same place forever. Especially after talking to her at the wedding, Aquata now understood that this wasn’t just a phase for Andy and she probably wasn’t coming back. And even though Adella had gotten the brunt of Aquata’s crisis about the family splitting up, Aquata had eventually made her peace with it.
She maybe expected Tina to leave, eventually, especially since she didn’t have her wedding in Swynlake. But Australia?
She coughed and cleared her throat, her expression going neutral. “That’s a long bloody plane ride.”
ARISTA:
Arista chewed on her tofu, happy to just sit among her family. Dinner nights were always so lovely. It was how they all caught up on things. (Well, at least the ones who were still in town).
Her brows shot up, Aquata had a point. It was a long plane ride. “Australia? Like forever?” Australia seemed pretty permanently away from Swynlake. But she trusted her sister to not make decisions unless she had already thought it over like a million times. “You think you’ll be near where Jake’s from? Maybe he can give you some pointers or teach you slang.” She tilted her head, trying to think back to all the weird things she’d heard her sister’s boyfriend say over the years.
ALANA:
"Australia?!"
To be honest, Alana had a moment of fear. It struck her suddenly and she looked at the dinner table, at the empty seats where Andrina and Adella once sat. She felt something twist in her gut, but then she looked at Tina and that twisting feeling transformed into a swell of pride.
"Ohmigosh that's so great!" she exclaimed. "Wow, more excuses for me to visit."
MELODY:
Well, that was far. Was the first thought as Melody digested the news. She wasn't all that surprised though. Each of the girls were moving on in their own way she wondered who would be next truly.
But this wasn't supposed to be sad. Not at all. "When are you planning on moving?"
PANIC:
Panic watched everyone's reactions grimacing ahead of time almost expecting for it to go terribly. Though it wasn't that bad not yet. "It's a long plane ride for sure but we're planning on getting a big enough place you guys can all visit whenever." Panic offered leaving Tina to answer Arista because really who knew especially with school.
"Toward the end of summer, we need to be there by Late August so we want to settle in a bit."
ATTINA:
Attina hadn't announced something like this since...well, since her pregnancy. And she'd done that one on one, because as much as she insisted on these dinners and everyone sharing their lives with each other, she always found it a little overwhelming to be the focus of the attention.
It was nice to have Panic there to help her, because she was trying to untangle her tongue while all her sisters and cousin stared at her. She knew it must be shocking and probably felt like it was coming out of left field and she felt herself about to word vomit everywhere a bunch of excuses.
Panic corralled everyone first and Attina shot him a grateful look before nodding.
"Yes, late summer. I will, uhm, I'm--I accepted an PhD studies offer at the National Australia University in Canberra for Marine Biology. It's not near Jake's, unfortunately." She had already looked that up, because of course she knew where her sister's boyfriend was from. "But, I'm sure he can give us plenty of pointers."
AQUATA:
Aquata was stunned.
Andy had always been a loose cannon. Adella had always wanted to get out of Swynlake from the beginning. But Tina? Tina, who basically ran Whosits and Whatsits, who went to every community event, who had a house here and friends and, okay, probably a lot of bad memories too, but who seemed more a part of Swynlake than anyone else?
It was like one of those moments when you were a kid and realized the teacher didn’t sleep at school. Attina had her own life. But.... Australia was really far.
Aquata didn’t really know what to say. She didn’t want to make a scene, or be the unsupportive one (again). But for someone who liked plans and routines, who liked being able to keep track of everyone, it was a lot to process.
“Congrats, Tina, that’s cool,” Aquata said flatly. She needed to go for a swim. She looked at Panic and smirked. Humor was a little easier than being sincere. “Better be a mansion. I’m not getting on a twenty-hour flight for any old cottage. Or maybe I’ll just swim there. Probably faster.”
Aquata made a face to show she was joking, because she didn’t want to freak Attina out, but honestly, it did sound like a fun idea.
ALANA:
Alana was still processing this. First Andrina had left, which seemed like a given and honestly, Lana had been surprised it hadn't happened sooner. She missed Andrina so much, her absence like a loose tooth she kept on prodding with her tongue. Adella had left second, which hadn't been a surprise either; she'd already left once the first time and she'd never wanted to stay in Swynlake. She had big dreams and a little town in England didn't exactly lend itself to them.
And now Attina --
Maybe this had been coming from the beginning. Maybe Attina dreamed of things too, dreamed of the ocean and helping save it. Maybe it was obligation that had kept her trapped in Swynlake, that obligation growing into fear and spreading across the rest of them. Maybe that's why Andrina had broken away, why Adella had always dreamed of bigger things. Maybe it all went back to Attina and the fact that she had stayed in the first place, instead of leaving.
Alana always wondered why she was working in a shoppe when she had a Master's degree.
Alana didn't know what she'd do without her big sister. It was one thing for Andrina and Adella to go off -- but Attina?
She wasn't sure where to look. Looking at Attina might make her cry. Looking at Aquata might make her scared. So she looked at Arista, who was soft and smiling and with a deep breath, Lana tried to relax herself.
(She wondered, briefly, if she would ever leave Swynlake; she'd thought about it a lot as a teenager but now... well with her own place and her own life separate from the legacy of her family, it didn't really bother her as much. She wondered, out of all of them, who would go and who would remain).
"Oh my gosh, do you have a new place picked out already?" asked Alana. "Is it by the beach? Please tell me it's by the beach."
ARISTA:
Arista, of course, was sad to see any of her sisters go. But she knew they all had to do some exploring of their own some time. She had left for a time to find perspective and where her music came from. Andy had left to grow and spread herself far and wide so she could experience everything the world had to offer. Adella had dreams that were outside of Swynlake. And so while she had been sad for those instances, she was happy for them because she knew they were becoming who they wanted to be most in the world.
And though the sadness over Tina hit her heart particularly hard as Tina had been the most patient and the most kind to her growing up (they of course were not without their fights as seen over the last couple years) but Arista knew that Tina had put a lot on hold and been through so much in town that it only made sense that she too at some point would want to find something different out there. And that didn’t mean they were losing her. They were just gaining distance while she became an even brighter version of herself.
She looked between her sisters, they all has their respective reactions but one thing was clear, they loved their sister and wanted to see her happy in their own ways.
She smiled softly, her voice matched her smile as she looked at her eldest sister, “I think you really deserve this, Teens.”
MELODY:
Melody sighed softly but nodded, this was good. The degree was amazing. And it would be good for Attina and Panic, she was sure of it. Or at least she hoped. Just like she hoped all the others girls were happier doing whatever it was they were doing right now.
It felt lonely in a way, seeing everyone move on but making her life more steady here. Would she be like them too one day? Would the rest of the Triton's be like that?
"Congrats Tina. That's going to be such a cool program. " None the less Melody would take each day by day and today was Tina and Panic's day.
PANIC:
Panic nodded giving the girls all a smile, a brief glance over to JEFF too. "We'll be near the water and no little cottage don't worry. Though maybe not a mansion big." Panic grinned with a raised eyebrow in Aquata's direction.
"Enough room and good scenery, it'll be worth the flight." Reaching over Panic gave Tina's hand a small squeeze. This was going a lot better than expected and part of him wondered if it was because some of the others girls had left. Strangely enough this was more common than you would first think.
ATTINA:
No one was yelling. Everyone was smiling--some more reserved than others. The air was a little stilted, awkward, and nervous, but...no one was yelling. That let Attina know, more than anything else, that this was the right decision. She had let out the breath she was holding and managed a tentative smile herself.
There were little tears shining in the corner of her eyes, but she nodded, squeezing Panic's hand back when he reached for her.
"Yes, of course. You are all welcome to visit, at any time. And we'll all FaceTime and text. It will be like I'm not really gone at all."
"We'll miss you too, Tiny, but don't worry. You're going to do brilliantly," Daddy said, reaching over to squeeze Attina's shoulder. She smiled over at him. "Your mum would be proud."
"Daddy," Attina said, those tears trembling--much more closer to falling. "You must promise to keep me informed of everything. I'll miss you all so much."
The club is pulsing like blood through Hercules’ heart.
Now, how did he get here—to a club—a place that Hercules never, ever goes?
You see, it all started with an innocent complaint from Melody while Georgette and Hercules were over at her place for dinner. She’d scrunched her nose up at one of their kisses. Georgette had decided that Melody needed a new partner and Hercules needed a friend. And Georgette could not accompany them because she was too hot and too friendly and would be the one who wound up doing the talking. Which was true, but that was why Hercules liked going out with her places and he was sure that was why Melody liked it too. Georgette ordered drinks (nonalcoholic for herself), yelling over the music. Hercules job was usually to—stand there.
But, no.
They had to go and make friends. Get people’s numbers. Have a good time.
Hercules was doubtful of any of these things actually happening. He was okay at making friends…sort of, but not friends that went to clubs. He wanted friends that went to bookshops and Hatter’s. Or the farmer’s market which was starting soon, but Georgette had had too good of a time dressing both him and Melody up and then sending them on their way. Telling them to have fun but not too much fun because then she would pout about it. He wished that Georgette was coming.
Not that he didn’t like spending time with Melody. He loved Melody, really. She was a calm, soft presence to Georgette’s frenetic, sharp energy. (Which, he loved, of course, because he loved his girlfriend and thought she was wonderful, if not a bit bossy and sometimes rude.) She was still his girlfriend and that was what mattered.
Melody would be fun. She would! Hercules believed that. The two of them always had a good time together, even if their idea of a good time was doing puzzles or hanging out after work. Which—really they just hung out at work a lot. It would be super nice to spend some time with her not in InterPride’s gigantic tower, where they only caught glimpses of each other unless they made plans to eat in the cafeteria together (which they usually did, unless one of them had a meeting or something like that. It was all very Adult. As Georgette often teased—Melody was basically Hercules’ work wife.) Hercules really enjoyed it. He actually loved his job a lot and it was nice to have a friend there. Plus, everyone who came in and out of InterPride was very nice.
But, that meant he saw Melody quite often.
And going to a club just seemed so weird to him. He couldn’t even really drink! That was part of the reason this was so ridiculous, though, it might be kind of funny to see Melody get drunk. He’d always liked teasing his friends back in college when he inevitably had to carry them home and tuck them into bed. He never minded much. Just because he couldn’t get drunk didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun—except he really didn’t like clubs for how noisy they were and how many people were in them.
Still, they had a goal. That helped. Both of them had to return with at least one number—Georgette’s orders. Hercules had tried to tell her that people didn’t go to clubs to make friends, but she had told him this round was more for Melody. Which made Hercules go: round?! There would be more than one of these? But, he’d already sold his soul to Georgette a long time ago, which meant that he would do whatever she asked. Yeah, yeah, he was whipped, but he didn’t really mind.
Unless his girlfriend felt like torturing him with formalities. Which, apparently she did. Ugh. Annoying.
Anyway, here they were—at the club. At the bar. Hercules was looking doubtfully around, wondering if there was even anyone in here worth talking to. Someone he could pick out for Melody. She did deserve someone. Probably better than someone she could find in a club, but Hercules wasn’t going to judge. Well, not much anyway.
So, he looked around—saw a blonde girl sitting at one end of the bar, and tilted his head.
“What about her?” he asked, as the girl smiled at the bartender. She looked nice and she had a cute nose. Hercules thought she was pretty—even if he immediately felt kinda bad for thinking that. Obviously, she wasn’t as pretty as Georgette!!
“She seems like she could be nice, yeah?” Hercules gave Melody a little nudge, feeling like a total tosser. He was so not a wingman! Why had Georgette signed him up for this?! She should be the one sitting here if she actually wanted Melody to get anyone’s number.
How to Get Over A Princess, According to Mermaids ~*~ [Attellody]
@adella-the-idyllic, @melody-the-unwritten
Melody had been dumped.
This sucked--and, if Tina was honest, this was in part because she was the only Triton dating now (yes, Melody was an Oceana, technically, but she counted as a Triton, keep up.) This sucked because Attina had been looking forward to double dates and not feeling as guilty talking about her super-amazing-mega-awesome-foxy-hot boyfriend. (She did not really let this guilt stop her, but it did curb it, just a little.)
But!
Melody was single. And that sucked.
So, Adella and Attina had decided to take Melody out.
“Okay! So! We’re gonna deal with this the best way us Tritons know how! And that’s by getting very drunk on tequila shots and dancing it out and making Percy take us all home! Cheers! Woo!”
Attina raised her glass and clinked it against Adella’s, then the lady of the hour’s, before tossing it back.
Georgette had gotten a rather odd text message from Melody that didn’t really divulge into much detail. That being said, the blonde decided to make a surprise pop-up visit to her friend’s place. It wasn’t too hard, they lived in the same complex after all. It was also far easier for Georgette to merely speak face to face then continue a conversation through text messages. Who knew the pad of a cell phone could be so fragile?
Thankfully, Melody had been home.
It was a good idea Georgette decided to just sweep by, Melody looked plain awful. She stepped into the apartment space, eyeing the brunette, studying her and wondering what in the world had happened to make her look down.
“I’m going to skip the ‘are you okay’ part and just tell you that you look horrible.”
It probably wasn’t the best thing to say at this precise moment, but it was out there already and it was also the truth.
Should I go with the Blue One or Pink One? || Pageant Mermaid
@melody-the-unwritten
Georgette was in her room, a suitcase splayed wide open as her eyes were avidly scouring her walk-in closet. She had to make a quick and short trip, hopefully, two to three days top, to New York City. She had received a phone call from Cassandra a couple of days ago in regards to her rapist.
This wasn’t exactly a trip she wanted to be making, but it was one where a choice wasn’t much of an option, so here she was.
“An appeal. They are going after an appeal! And now I have to go to New York and figure out what I’m going to do if they win.”
Which, knowing the situation, they probably will as the person behind this appeal, the one paying off the extraordinary good and super expensive lawyers to get this win, was the ex-boyfriend that had planned and paid for her rape.
This was the wrong time for it all. There had been too much going on, and far too many things she was dealing with personally that to add this on top of it all? She was going to fall apart, thankfully Melody was here to help pack.
“I-I can’t do this right now! Not right now. I can’t even focus on my clothes.”
