#ft.shanley

[arlocedwards]

closed starter for @ftshanley​ // Maybe it was a little over the top...but Arlo couldn’t stop himself. His inner hopeless romantic was starting to kick into gear and no matter how many times he paused and debated blowing out all the candles he’d lit, or thought to change the music to something less expressive, he couldn’t bring himself to. He was battling with himself and why? He’d made an internal promise to allow himself to be vulnerable with Shanley after their encounter on the beach, he didn’t want their relationship to be built on some shoddy foundation of will they or won’t they. Even if he found himself stumbling back  in his habits of verbally withholding, at least his actions could speak louder in this kind of environment. As his watch drew closer to eight o’clock, Arlo spun around from a fixed point on the rooftop to ensure everything he’d set up was absolutely perfect: candles lit, music playing, dinner served. The rooftop seemed to tell a story for their evening, they’d have dinner in one corner and then make their way over to the blankets and pillows he’d thrown together so they could watch a movie or even stargaze. With maybe a little bit of dancing sprinkled somewhere in between. He just hoped that Shanley would like it and that it wouldn’t be something that would send her running. At the sound of rattling from the other side of the door that led up to the roof, Arlo scrambled to snatch the bouquet of flowers he’d purchased from off of the table and took a few steps closer to the door. With the bouquet in one hand and his other hand fumbling to adjust his sports coat, the male stood there beaming, probably looking like an absolute idiot, but he was past the point of caring.

[arlocedwards]

+ closed starter for @ftshanley​ | With all that had happened within the course of the last twelve hours, there was only one person that seemed to bubble to the forefront of his mind: Shanley. As if this was some new occurrence, and yet with the escalation of events there was a wave of guilt that had washed over him for leaving her the way he did. She’d fallen asleep in his arms the night prior, and had woken up to a vacant half of the bed. He wondered what she was doing, if she’d seen Luca and if he’d mentioned the words that Arlo’d taunted him with. He hoped that at least there was a thought that crossed her mind - something that referenced knowing his intentions weren’t as ill as they may have seemed as Luca recounted his version. However, he meant it, every single word he’d said to Luca, and if it came down to it, he was willing to explain himself despite his hesitations - at least for Shanley he was willing. He nervously twisted the hospital band around his wrist, he should’ve asked Clover to rip it off of him the moment they’d left the hospital, but he’d forgotten admist the jokes of Mary Shaw she was making. As he approached Shanley’s bedroom, he attempted to regain composure, straightening his back, and yet the stiffness in his leg sent him staggering once more. As he reached for her doorknob, he could hear the sound of a familiar voice muffled behind the door -- his voice.  She’d.. found it? He works the door open, slowly, lingereing in the door way, his eyes scan the room for her. There she is - with her back to him. The song was nearing it’s end - her song. He doesn’t want to interrupt it, although there’s a slight urge to find the source playing the song and crush it. But he knows that’s the fear talking, when in reality all he’d wanted was for her to know these words. He remains still, fixed in his position of leaning against the doorframe until the last chord is struck, although his hands are now twitching at his sides - wanting to touch her. His chest heaves as he hears his voice continue on the track, I love you - he’d forgotten that he’d left this part in. 

[arlocedwards]

@ᴀʀʟᴏᴇᴅᴡᴀʀᴅꜱ ᴜᴘʟᴏᴀᴅᴇᴅ ɴᴇᴡ ᴘᴏꜱᴛꜱ : ꜱ ᴄʟᴜʙ ᴀɴɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱᴀʀʏ ᴇᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ

( @ftshanley , @sainiik , @cartwrightluca , @jupiterhyeon , @willowhq , @ofdelilahs  )

[arlocedwards]

+ airbnb pt. i | closed starter for @ftshanley​ | “If you could travel anywhere right this moment, where would you go?” Arlo mused aloud, head tilting to the side as he awaited her response. He vaguely remembers asking her this question once before, and although he’s hoping to still remember what she’d said all those years ago, shacked up in her college dorm room, he wonders if maybe her answer has since then changed. He raises his wine glass to his lips with one hand, taking a long sip, his other hand resting against the top of the table - Shanley’s own encompassed in his with their fingers laced together. The act of having dinner together was something so simple, they’d done it hundreds ( if not thousands ) of times before over the course of years knowing one another, and yet there was something about tonight that just felt heightened - special even. It was the first time the couple had been alone ( well, truly alone together ) since labeling their relationship at the beginning of summer. Sure, they’d been alone together plenty of times prior; visiting one another at their respective universities throughout their college years, sneaking off to spend time with one another whenever they were both home for the holidays, and of course, the years they’d spent at the vila prior to this one but this was different. There was no longer any need for them to hide the their relationship further, nor deny the bond they’d cultivated and the feelings they’d developed for one another over the last ten years. There was this unshakable feeling that resided over Arlo as he gazed across the table at his girlfriend, unable to suppress the grin that began to spread across his features as he beheld her. 

[arlocedwards]

+ closed starter for @ftshanley​ | The two had spent a majority of their morning ( and early afternoon ) seated at a local brunch spot in town. Bottomless mimosas had once seemed so promising, which is what had led the pair there in the first place, bordering inebriation by the time they’d paid their bill before catching an uber back to the villa. Arlo felt the warmth from the alcohol buzzing through his system as a slight flush rose to his cheeks. Champagne usually made him feel so sleepy, but the gentle kisses Shanley was pressing across his jawline kept him alert enough to notice when the driver had stalled in front of the villa. Mumbling a quick thank you, Arlo cracked open the passenger door, unbuckling both his and Shanley’s seatbelts before tumbling out of the car, almost falling to his knees but he’d managed to catch himself at the last second. “Buzz buzz, where’s my honey?” He hums drunkenly, spinning around on his heels as he waits for Shanley to exit the car, making grabby hands at her once she shuts the car door behind her. “Miss you,” He pouts, a small frown forming across his features, “C’mere...”

[arlocedwards]

+ closed starter for @ftshanley​ | The red light of the dvr stationed in front of them read that it was near three o'clock in the morning. Had they really been cozied up on the couch ( unmoving and unwilling to part even the slightest of inches from one another’s embrace ) for a mere four hours already ? The pair had been inseparable since the events of Luca's birthday celebration at the water park, and truthfully, Arlo wouldn't have wanted his time spent any other way. There was a strong desire that lingered between them to make up for the time that had been squandered as a result of his distance, and Arlo was more than eager to compensate for the deficit. The two hadn’t even told their friends at this point about their rekindling, although they were sure to figure it out for themselves by their absence from the villa, and especially now as the two sequestered themselves in the living room so publicly. This proving to be the first time in two days that the couple had wandered outside of Shanley’s bedroom, only seeming to make it as far as the couch to watch whatever movie was playing. But now as it grew into the early hours of the next day, it was mainly infomercials that aired on the tv, and still neither one of them made any movement to change the channel, they were barely paying much attention to the box anyways - more focused on one another and the words that were leaving them. The spell of sleepiness that had fallen over them encouraged them to confide in one another, as they should - there was much they had yet to discuss. Arlo was well aware of the ease of his words as they left his lips - there was no need for him to repress his thoughts and feelings now, not with Shanley anyhow. As she laid in his arms, Arlo absentmindedly ran his fingers down her arm - drawing shapes into her skin with the tips of his fingers. “What are your thoughts on marriage?” He had an inkling - he knew she idolized her parents marriage, as did he for his own, but it was something the two had never talked about prior. Even after a year and a half of sneaking around with one another, and ten years of pining, their talks post-sex varying in nature, and yet this was a topic the two had seemed to actively avoid, even when it was stubbled upon casually. Perhaps it was the blinking red light that gave him the boost of courage he needed as he couldn’t further postpone asking her now - not when he was considering what the future may hold for them.

[arlocedwards]

closed starter for @ftshanley​ // It had been a long day, to say the least. Arlo felt drained and he couldn’t be bothered to make his way back up to the villa. He’d been sitting on the shore for hours now, just staring at the horizon and getting lost in his own head. Although he didn’t know the time, he knew by the way the sun was beginning to set that he’d missed his and Shanley’s first date. He felt guilty, but he couldn’t seem to will himself to get up from his position. He knew at some point he’d have to get up and head back inside, but he couldn’t bring himself to go back to his room..to see Harrison or to find Shanley and potentially crumble in front of her. What if she didn’t like who she saw? 

[arlocedwards]

closed starter for @ftshanley​ // Hours passed faster than Arlo was able to keep track of as the pair laid in bed together, their bodies tangled in Shanley’s bed sheets. His fingers brushed up and down her spine as she laid on top of him, his other hand resting underneath the back of his head. He hadn’t anticipated staying up the entire night with Shanley, but he was grateful for the opportunity. They hadn’t spent this quantity of time with one another since before they came to the villa, and he’d begun to miss her. There was this calming presence about her that Arlo craved. There were never any uncomfortable pauses or lulls in their conversation - the two simply enjoyed one anothers’s company. “Hmm,” He paused in thought, his fingers running through the ends of her hair once he’d reached the top of her spine, “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” He questioned, languidly twirling a strand of her hair around his fingers. He was enjoying this game they were playing, if it was even a game at all - they’d spent the last hour simply asking one another questions and catching up on recent developments in one anothers lives and things they’d heard in the villa. “I can’t decide if I’d want invisibility or to be telepathic.”