Karlie wasn’t the biggest fan of zoos or any places that kept animals in captivity, but considering the present she had chosen for Alfie and his unsurprising invite, she decided to close an eye on the entire ‘animals rights’ thing and enjoy the day with a... friend? The model didn’t quite know how to label him, but friend was a fresh start. Living in Royal for so long, she hadn’t quite met someone whom had tickled her curiosity as much. Not really. Feeling quite a few eyes on them whom had chosen to go public in a quaint look, Karlie didn’t mind it at all and focused all her attention on the man beside her while they were ready to get on the safari truck. ”Are you excited you’re about to be reunited with your family? You should totally send Matt a selfie later,” @enochalready
NOTES: Blaine’s upset about hurting Kurt, so Leon decides to visit him to make him feel better.
Blaine: Blaine glanced up as he heard his front door open, knowing it could only be one person. He sniffled, running a hand over his face and curls before turning the TV off. He played with his phone, staying in bed, knowing Lee would find him eventually. His door opened with a soft creak and his eyes pinpricked with tears again as he saw his brother, looking far too concerned for his liking. "Hi." He said softly, voice streaked with tears.
Leon: When he entered the room and saw the sad expression in his brother face, the tears filling his eyes, he couldn't help but feel angry about the whole situation, he hated when Blaine cried and the distinctive smile in his face was now gone, if there was someone who didn't deserve to feel that way, it was Blaine. "Babe..." He murmured without hiding his concern as he stepped into the room and climbed on the bed beside his brother, he didn't say anything before he was wrapping his arm around Blaine and pulling him closer. "Shh, don't cry, B".
Blaine: As soon as Leon crawled into bed and pulled him close the flood gates opened all over again. He burrowed his face in his shoulder and clutched at his waist, letting himself cry. He couldn't help it; regardless of whether he knew about leading Kurt on or not he had still /done/ it. Kurt was such a nice guy and he was sweet, they had a lot of fun together and he had a shit track record with guys...and Blaine was just another asshole. "I c-can't help it," He choked out, tears coursing down his cheeks. His sobs emptied out of his chest. "I didn't mean to hurt him. I didn't mean to l-lead him on. I'm so stupid for not realizing i-it."
Leon: He kept Blaine secure in his embrace, his fingers slowly caressing his arm and he let him cry on his shoulder and just listened to him, every sob his brother gave were like a flash of pain in his chest, he couldn't bear to see Blaine like this. "Hey, you're not stupid, don't say that, you're just a little naive, that's all" Leon was never the one to console people, he always felt like he was bad at it, but he was trying anyway, because it was Blaine. "You didn't mean to lead him on, B, do you think if Leaf did something similar without meaning to, he would be horrible or stupid? No, because he's naive, sort of like you, so don't say that, ok? You were just being nice with him like you always are with everyone, it's not your fault".
Blaine: Blaine's sobs slowly diminished against Leon's chest and he slowly pulled back after a few moments, still remaining within his boyfriend's arms. He sniffled, raising a shaking hand to wipe the tears off his cheeks. "I hate this, I should have seen it." He shook his head, his other hand absentmindedly pushing up Leon's shirt to touch the skin of his back. It was very soothing, the warmth of him, the scent of his cologne. "I didn't mean to lead him on, I didn't. I wish I just...could have told him before his brothers found out. I didn't even realize you were right until this morning." He sighed, looking up until their eyes met. "Promise you don't think I'm a bad person?"
Leon: He could feel the desperation in his brother's voice and it killed him to see his boyfriend like that, he lifted a hand to brush some curls from Blaine's face while he talked, denying soon as he heard the question. "What? No, you're not a bad person, if there's someone who isn't a bad person, it's you, ok?" His fingers slowly wiped some tears which were still on the other's face before he continued. "The fact you're here crying and blaming yourself because you /may/ have broken someone's heart, without even meaning to, it makes pretty clear you're not a bad person" He smiled, liking the way Blaine's hand was touching his skin, it gave him more comfort to keep talking, he then bent his head to touch his brother's lips in a gentle kiss before whispering. "You're one of the most selfless person I know and I hate to see you cry, so smile for me, yeah?"
Blaine: Blaine sniffled, glad to see that Leon didn't consider him a terrible person for what had happened. At least that made it one person, which even though he might have been a little bias, it helped him feel better. He nodded his head and leaned into Lee's touch, closing his eyes as his thumb traced across his face to remove remaining tear tracks before inching closer to intertwine their legs. His fingers traced patterns on the bare skin of Leon's back, circling the knobs of his spine. "As much as I wanted to tell Kurt in person," Blaine said softly. "I'm scared he's going to hate me. Is that stupid?" He asked, looking up at him. "He is a really good friend." He shook his head, chewing on his lower lip as Lee said he wanted a smile. He rolled his eyes playfully before the ends of his mouth finally quirked up. The gentle kiss provoked something more genuine however and he /did/ smile after a moment. "I'm glad you're here."
Leon: He was already relaxing against his brother with the way his fingers kept moving on his back, nodding as he listened to his words. "No, it's not stupid, you just care too much." Leon bit his lip as he heard about Kurt being a good friend, he was never the jealous type, but Kurt got under his skin because he knew that Blaine had some sort of crush before and Kurt wasn't his /brother/. But then he saw his brother's smile and couldn't help but smile too, sighing as he stared at him. "Yeah, I'm glad I'm here too, you can call me whenever, you know?" He kissed Blaine one more time, smiling against his lips before pulling away and narrowing his eyebrows for a moment. "And hey, don't worry, he's not going to hate you just because you don't have feelings for him" He paused then, his fingers slowly caressing his cheek and he cleared his throat before adding. "You don't, right? Have feelings for him." He asked, trying his best to hide how jealous he was feeling, if there was one thing Leon hated was to show insecurity.
Blaine: Blaine nodded a little and leaned into him, closing his eyes as he pressed his face into the other's neck. He would call him whenever he needed, because this was exactly why. Leon always came when he needed, always knew how to touch (even if he wasn't always sure what to say) to make him feel better. He leaned into the gentle kisses and the hand calmingly up and down his back. Blaine breathed in his skin and cologne, squeezing him a little. "I hope you're right." He said softly before pulling back regardless of how much he didn't want to. But he wanted to be able to say this to Leon's face. "I don't have feelings for him like that. I mean, he's my friend and I care about him. I care about hurting him." He swallowed, playing with the buttons on the other's shirt. "But I don't like him like that. Like how I like you."
Leon: Leon waited for his answer, biting his lip in apprehension as he stared at his brother who was looking at him, as soon as he listened to the reply, he couldn't help but let out a small sigh in relief, without too much thought, he inclined his face to kiss his brother's lips again, hand sliding into his curls while enjoying how much he liked their lips moving together. When he broke the kiss, still with their faces close, Leon smiled to Blaine before adding. "I'm fucking glad, and I like you too, you know?" He pressed a gently kiss on his brother's forehead then. "I'm sorry about fighting with you the other day, ok? Let's not fight again, but are you feeling any better, babe? Do you need anything?".
Blaine: "I hate fighting with you." Blaine whispered, playing with Leon's shirt. "It's literally one of the worst things." He swallowed thickly before snuggling close. He let out a long breath, enjoying the way of their bodies pressed completely together under the sheets. He wasn't feeling a hundred percent better but the fact that Leon was there helped a lot. It was amazing just how calming he could be, his hand in his curls, his lips pressed against his forehead. "I am feeling better. I just...can you stay here?" He whispered, looking up at him. "Stay with me so I can get some sleep? I wasn't able to sleep the past few nights, especially when I was fighting with you. If you need to go though, I understand."
Leon: "I hate it too, I promise you I'm trying, though." He answered honestly, because he was really trying to be good to Blaine and be the guy he deserved. Once he heard the question about staying, Leon couldn't help but smile, but soon his smile was gone and replaced with a frown. "Fuck, you haven't slept well because of me? I'm so sorry, babe, but yeah, I wasn't planning on going anywhere, not with you like this anyway, I can stay here." He smiled then, pulling him closer while his hand stroked Blaine's curls. "You don't have to ask twice, I'm here for you".
Blaine: Blaine running a hand through his own hair before inching closer to Leon, like it was even possible at this point before pressing a kiss to his shoulder. He smiled a little, letting his eyes close before listening to Leon's breathing. "Thanks Lee." He murmured, quickly falling asleep with the other's hands running down his back and through his hair. He hoped sleep would help. He knew when he woke up he would have to talk to Kurt and tell him the truth but until then he was going to lean into Leon's touch and let his presence lull him to sleep.
A morena estava com a cabeça nas nuvens, nem mesmo no treino das Cheerios havia se concentrado, durante o ensaio do Glee Club a morena ficou desenhando em seu caderno sem prestar atenção no que o sr. Schue falava, muito menos na coreografia que Brittany e Jake pareciam estar bolando. Nada daquilo estava surtindo efeito na garota, seu olhar não se desviava do caderno, embora vez ou outra Marley olhava para Ryder, que estava na cadeira mais afastada dela, no fundo também, com uma cara um tanto emburrada. Mas quem era ela para dizer alguma coisa? Afinal, estava desenhando um jardim morto cheio de zumbis que estavam atacando a maior parte das Cheerios. Seu desenho não era um dos melhores, no entanto servia o bastante para que seu estresse diminuísse um pouco.
Marley logo fora até o refeitório, queria passar um tempo com sua mãe e mais ninguém. Kitty e Britt haviam a chamado para irem com elas fazer compras com mais algumas Cheerios, no entanto a garota sabia que não poderia gastar muito e não estava com humor para isso. Jake também havia a convidado para sair, mas Marley apenas queria a companhia materna, e de mais ninguém. Não devia se demonstrar fraca assim, mas a garota pouco se importava no momento, apenas precisava passar um tempo longe de tudo aquilo que estava deixando-a confusa e estressada.
Esperou que as demais merendeiras fossem embora e ajudou sua mãe a limpar a cozinha em silêncio, embora a mais velha buscasse vez ou outra falar alguma coisa para que a filha falasse algo. "E como vai com Ryder?", a pergunta que a garota temia fora feita. Marley engoliu a seco, focando o olhar na água. "Nós.. Hm, nós terminamos" disse num tom de voz baixo, e logo ouvira a mãe se aproximar, desligando a torneira e fazendo com que Marley se virasse para ela, Millie puxou a menina até os bancos mais próximos e ambas se sentaram, frente a frente. "Mas o que aconteceu, minha filha? Vocês estavam tão bem.." a preocupação era óbvia na voz de sua mãe.
Contara tudo o que havia acontecido, desde a festa, até a conversa que eles haviam tido na hora do almoço. Marley ainda podia sentir os lábios do rapaz contra os seus, se é que era possível tal coisa. Ela fechou os olhos, tentando impedir que as lágrimas se formassem. A garota sentia-se mal, as palavras de Ryder, "Mas eu sinto que a antiga Marley ainda está viva, não quero deixar que ela vá embora… Ainda a amo.", ecoavam em sua mente. Ela queria dizer que a antiga Marley estava ali e ali sempre continuaria, que ela também o amava e que não queria ir embora, no entanto não era mais a antiga Marley que estava no controle, e talvez ela jamais voltasse, afinal a garota já havia se machucado o suficiente em tão pouco tempo.
Millie a abraçara, e então a morena fizera a pergunta que tanto temia, saber se era ou não verdade "Ryder foi em casa..? Depois que eu já tinha saído com Kitty e Jake?" sua voz não passava de um sussurro, se alguém a visse agora, acharia-a completamente patética, no entanto Marley estava magoada demais para se importar se alguém a veria naquele momento com sua mãe. Millie suspirou e encarou a filha nos olhos. "Sim, ele foi Marls.. Já era tarde e foi pouco antes de você voltar pra casa" após sua mãe dizer isso, a morena se sentiu ainda pior, Ryder havia falado a verdade, então por que Jake mentiria para ela? Não conseguia entender isso, e talvez nem quisesse, apenas queria poder se desculpar com o rapaz, no entanto já era tarde demais, e ainda havia um porém.. Ele acreditava que Marley tinha o traído.
NOTES: "Kids, have I ever told you the story of how I met the Red Ranger?" A story dating back to their freshman year, this is the tale of how Marley Rose and Noah Puckerman became friends.
MARLEY ROSE
Assured that no one was near her, Marley hummed under her breath as she organized her locker. It was her first year at Reefside High, and apart from witnessing some rather unorthodox hazing methods from the upperclassmen, it had been smooth sailing so far. She'd kept to herself, preferring to study people from afar rather than trying to mix in with the other students. It was difficult to be attending a school where everyone knew other mostly from grade school, whereas she had moved recently from a different school district and didn't recognize any faces from her old middle school. That was okay though. Middle school hadn't been all that great anyway, so she was more than ready for a change. Reefside seemed to be the place to offer just that.
Well, that and her mom was able to get a reliable job at the school as a lunch lady, but they were in agreement that in order to prevent middle school from repeating itself, her mom was merely 'Millie' or 'Ms. Rose' outside of the walls of their home. It was already weird, and it didn't sit well with her, but she knew it would make her mom breathe easier if she just played along. All of that led to today, with Marley settling in after two solid weeks of freshman year already under her belt. Her teachers were great, the library was great, and aside from not really making any friends yet, she wasn't being bullied or teased, so that was a plus too. Once everything in her locker was neat and orderly, she pulled her backpack on and closed the door to lock it in place. However when she turned around, she found herself cornered by some of the tallest jocks she'd yet to see around school. And the smiles on their faces were anything but friendly.
'Lookie what we've got her - a frosh who seems to have slipped past us a little too long,' one of them jeered, and she swallowed nervously.
'Everyone has to pass orientation, and it's your turn to be initiated.'
Marley knew all too well by now what 'initiated' meant - getting slushied.
