Not really knowing whether to knock or not, Levi wasn't exactly sure why he was standing on the boy's front porch, or why he already had his shoes off. Because he wasn't exactly sure why he would want to spend the evening with a boy like Tanner. He was way different than anyone he had ever hung out with before, especially because he wasn't... someone that was easy to get along with. You could always see fear in Tanner's eyes, but it was mostly because you didn't do something that he agreed with, or you did things in odd numbers. It was sad, really. But Levi thought to maybe do something sweet for him, because strangely, he felt obligated to befriend this boy who seemed like he needed a little something extra. A little extra love that maybe Levi didn't believe in for Valentine's day, but he wanted to show the boy exactly what he meant.
So, sitting at the front door, he knocked twice, just because he knew that the boy would appreciate the sound of two instead of three.
The best thing about late Saturday nights, Beatrice thought, were all the typically crowded public locations that fell into utter silence and peace. On days when she didn't have plans of anything to do with her friends, she usually took that oportunity as a chance to explore her usually busy town in search of little sanctuaries --- places that gained a special meaning to her, and her only. Nobody would get to see those places the way she did because, well, nobody ever had that weird sort of idea. And even if they did, most people would consider hanging out at a deserted location in a big city on a late night to be risky, to say the least. But that sort of worry was far behind Beatrice. Nobody had ever praised her safety much, so she'd learnt not to give it much value, herself.
For that reason, on that late Saturday night, Beatrice decided to go for a stroll. On top of her longboard, the girl rolled herself around the quiet streets of her neighborhood, Windsor Square, headphones in her hears blasting to MGMT. She kept her eye out for good locations to chill, as she approached central Phoenix. An empty playground called her attention. She grinned. Playgrounds were always so noisy by day, with yelling kids and even louder parents, the constant movement of vending carts and running around. At night, it couldn't even be considered a playground --- and she loved it. If not a playground, she had to find out what it was. With swift movements, she hopped off from her skateboard and tucked it under her arm, jumping over the low metal grid that set the place's boundaries. Resting her eyes on a wooden bench, she made it her place for the night, laying down her body with her knees bent. Her eyes wandered around the area --- there didn't seem to be anyone on a wide range around her. With a sigh, she pulled off a mints tin from her sweatshirt's pocket, where she kept her recently rolled joints. Bringing one of them to her lips, she lit it up, inhaling the smoke, which gently burnt her throat. Beatrice laid back, then, as she felt her head lighter, resting it on the wooden bench, so that she'd face the stars above her. With a continuous blow, she let out the smoke from her lungs, letting her eyes dance from star to star.
Kimi hadn't been on a date in what seemed like forever. It had been out of choice and a strict desire for fun without any of the complications. But it had seemed the minute she met Tanner, she'd been leaning in this direction with him. Her tumultuous relationship with her boss had begun to give her freezer burn; it left her dehydrated and cold, burnt beneath the ice that encapsulated the two of them. She needed to break free, to be free. And when she thought of being free, she thought of Tanner. He had an innocence to him, not from lack of exposure to the dark side, but from lack of desire. He could have ended up like any of the others in the town, a junkie, an alcoholic, a deadbeat dad. Yet he wasn't; he was clean and refreshing and different. There was kindness too; no malevolence or viciousness, nothing dark or chafing. And if there was, he did a good enough job of burying it that she wasn't immediately aware of his dysfunction, which was how it should be on a first date. You left your baggage at home, opened it up for the viewing party another day. And if there was another day for them, she had more than her fair share to dish out as well.
She showered, remembering that it was a real date and as such, she was able to dress however she wanted without worrying about items being wrecked or ruined or not appealing enough. The power and freedom were both hers, and she intended to use both to the best of her ability. She dressed in a fuzzy aquamarine crop top and mini skirt that made her smile, her lips a shocking nearly-nude colour, and her hair in curls. Spritzing on her Chanel No. 4, she pulled on her Choos and sat in the living room, leafing through one of her old favourites, The Great Gatsby. She had her favourite passages memorized, and was just contemplating rereading the whole thing when her doorbell sounded. She smirked playfully, tugging the door open eagerly with one hand while still holding the book in the other.
Being in Chemistry was and always had been Tamera’s favourite part of the day. She’d always grab the desk at the front, sit on the left side and align her pencil case and binder out neatly in front of her, ready to start the lesson. She usually sat next to one of her close friends and they tended to get along with the work no hassle and avoid all the troublemakers who situated themselves at the back of the room. Although they may find their antics funny, often Tamera just found them distracting and pointless.
However, this lesson was different and rather than their teacher waiting for everyone to file in and just berate the ones who shuffled in late, she sent everyone immediately to the back of the classroom. “Now, class. I’m positively sick of your seating arrangement, there are too many of you who think that sitting at the back will get you out of doing work,” the teacher all but growled. “Well no longer. I’ve devised a seating plan and you’ll all sit accordingly.” A student went to protest but all he got was a stern glare and he backed down within half a second.
An anxiety ran through Tamera for a moment. Would Miss remember why she liked to sit at the front? Would she still be there? And god, who would she be sat next to? As the teacher read off the names from back to front, the petite brunette was beginning to notice a pattern. It appeared that she was situating all the kids with the lower grades at the back and the higher grades at the front and that only made Tammy scowl at the thought. When finally, the teacher reached the front two tables and a sigh of relief racked through the girl when she found she was in the exact same spot.
Unfortunately, taking that spot now came with a price. That price being Tanner Eldridge. She tried to avoid him at all costs due to his irritating nature and yet she could already tell this would be torture. Slamming her books down on her desk yet keeping a neutral expression, Tamera sat down and tried to avoid any eye contact with the boy.
"And my final announcement," the teacher spoke once everyone had settled in their places. "These are your lab partners, so I’d love for you all to really get cosy with eachother because you’ll be with them for the whole of the semester." Eyes widening, Tamera looked at the teacher in disbelief, this could not be happening to her of all people. She was always polite -or at least, she attempted to be-, handed in her homework early, had a perfect A+ record and she was stuck with someone like Tanner? "Your first assignment is an in-depth research on what you think is one of the greatest discoveries in the history of chemistry. You have two weeks. I’d suggest you get working."
Janice should have left well enough alone; she'd gotten her pride and sense of self back, and that should have been enough. But it wasn't. The next few days had been filled with making phone calls and tracking people down, playing the who's who game between work and school. Finally, she found the address of who she was looking for. She thought as she got ready, she'd back down and cower, but looking in the mirror only gave her more confidence. She flattened her hair but left it down, and didn't bother with make-up; there was a dark circle under one eye and a closed cut on her forehead and lip from her scramble with Jason, and those war wounds gave her all she needed to see this through. She wasn't going to hide it, not with shades, not with a hat. She had nothing to hide. She dressed down for the occasion, because she had no need to impress him: a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a striped teal spaghetti strap, a black leather jacket and her black converse all-stars were all she needed.
She left a note for Alexis for when she got home, gathered her keys, her wallet, a particular item she'd be needing and her phone and made her march out of the apartment. Each footstep, from the door, to the elevator, to the lobby, to the streets, gave her more strength. Doubt tried to rear its ugly head the entire way, convincing her this was a stupid idea, that it just pushed her in a bad direction, that she'd end up cracking under the pressure. She ignored it, because she needed this. She deserved it. She'd taken a lot of shit in her life, especially when it came to him, and she deserved closure. It was a wound that wasn't going to close on its own, because they'd just keep running into each other until the end of time, and she wasn't going to keep being afraid of when they did.
It hadn't been too hard to track him down, since apparently he was in the same circle of friends she had. It took a little digging, of course, but once she got past the surface layer of Jason's stupid friends, it'd been much easier. And now as she approached the address, she felt her stomach churn, not with nervousness, but with excitement. She wasn't scared of him, which felt like a release all in its own. He had nothing to hold over her to make her afraid anymore. When she hit the buzzer for 'Tanner Colt', she couldn't help but smirk. Seemed as if everyone hid who they really were, in California. She rocked on her feet, hands digging into the pockets of her jacket as she waited to be buzzed up, or told to leave. Whichever came first.
Anne didn't want to go to the penthouse party; after the fiasco at the club, Jason had been a complete nazi about what she could or couldn't eat, drink or take before going anywhere, and it was taking its toll on her. The ache in her bones was steadily growing, leaving her crabby and annoyed with the man. He wasn't her owner, after all, why the fuck did she have to listen to him? And yet, she did.
Getting ready for the party was an absolute nightmare. She wiggled her way into a black strapless dress, flat-ironed her hair and put in a headband, slapped on some minor, cheap plastic jewelry, save for the piece she always wore when she went out, whether hidden under her regular attire when it didn't match, or out for display when it did: a turquoise beaded necklace with a lacquered designed sand dollar as the charm. She put in a pair of matching earrings, pulled on her heels and headed downstairs to meet Jason and the crew.
The drive was dull and boring. At least to her; Jason was laughing it up with his friends, her existence seemingly nothing to them. She just stared out the window, every once and a while breathing on it to write her name. Fortunately, they reached the party fairly quickly, and she was the first to bound out of the car. Jason called out for her, but she blatantly ignored him, heading into the building and leaving the group of friends behind. She'd pay for it later, but he was the one dragging her out here and then ignoring her to make a point. She was getting sick of his shit, fast.
The elevator doors closed long before Jason and the crew reached it, which gave her a smug sense of satisfaction. She could at least get herself a drink without being berated for it. She fished through her purse to make sure she had her fake ID with her; it was a house party, but she never knew when someone would try to pull the 'underage' bit on her. She brushed her hair past her shoulders as the doors opened up to the doorway of the penthouse. She walked in, alone, and took in the sights. The room was dim, some sort of dance music playing from a DJ booth set up in the corner, and -- lo and behold, an open bar!
"Thank you, Jesus," she looked up at the ceiling, a grin crossing over her lips. She nodded toward a few people she'd met a couple of times as she pushed her way over to the set up table. She bumped the shoulder of someone and stopped, reaching out to touch his shoulder as if she was afraid he'd lose his balance. "Oh snap, sorry dude!"
Tagging: Lulu Fitzgerald, Martin Fitzgerald, Richard Fitzgerald, Tanner Pavetti, with special appearances by Isabella Reynolds and Havana Samuels
Time Zone: Tuesday night/Wednesday morning
Setting: Norville Hospital
General Notes: Hell froze over when the Fitzgeralds actually acted like a family. Kidding. Just cuteness and sibling teasing.
Lulu keeps breathing, holding her watermelon of a stomach, trying not to cry. "Did you get a hold of Tanner? please tell me he answered.."
Richard sits there in driver's seat, driving to the hospital.
Martin rubs her shoulder from the back seat, holding his phone to his ear. "I texted him, no answer so far. I'll try calling again as soon as I'm off with Bella, okay? Just breathe. Look at Richard's face. It'll make you laugh."
Lulu looks at Richard and perks a brow before breaking out into a small grin. "You look more scared than I do..." Breathes and mutters. "He better have gis phone charged too.
Richard glares at Martin in the rearview mirror and continues driving. "Sh. I've never been through this! Grandma and Grandpa always watched me when you guys were born."
Martin grins at Richard and blows him a kiss. "Hey, I've never been through this at all. I'm the youngest." He says poinetdly before feeling his phone vibrate. "Tanner's on his way, he's meeting us there, okay Lu?"
Lulu nods and grips the head rest on the seat. "Good. What about Bella? She's coming too right?"
Richard: continues driving, a car cuts him off and he hits the breaks, honking. "FUCKING FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU YOU STUPID ASS DRIVER! FUCK YOU!" Gets into the other lane and flips off the driver.
Martin nods thoug hno one can see him. "Yeah, she's coming too. DOn't worry." Slings his arm over the seat and her shoulder to give her his hand. "Take my hand, it's more effective than a headrest." He said before jerking forward at the sudden stop and starts cracking up at Richard. "Way to show 'em man."
Lulu growls at being cut off. "Bastards," she hisses and takes Martin's hand, seeing the hospital up ahead after a few more minutes. "Hell, I can't do this. Tell it to not come yet. I'm not ready..." Mutters and looks at the doors to the hospital.
Richard pulls into the parking lot of the hospital.
Martin gets out and grabs the bag. "Tanner says he loves you, Lu." He said before jogging ahead to grab a wheelchair and brings it back to the car for her.
Tanner: pulls into a spot a few done from there's, getting out and jogging over. "Heck yeah I do." He shoots and grin to the other siblings before reaching down to help Lulu."Ready?"
Lulu glares up at him. "You should have been home by now!" Smacks his arm and gets into the wheelchair. "My birthing plan is in the side pocket, they need to ha-" grips the arms to the wheelchair. "They need to have that. No drugs. Let's just..get it out before it devours me."
Richard turns off his car and gets out, closing the front door and patting the hood. "Glad that jackass didn't ruin you." He said quietly and then walks quickly to the other side. "Lets get on in guys! I am ready to be Uncle Richard!" Runs into the hospital.
Martin pulls out the birthing plan and hands it to Richard, "Uncle Dicky can be incharge of this." He chuckled before handing the bag to Tanner and pushing the wheelchair. "Let's get this show on the road kids."
Tanner: grabs the bag and follows after Martin and Lulu, careful to make sure Lulu didn't grab hold of his bad hand.
Lulu keeps a light hold on Tanner's hand before moving her hand up to his forearm to wrap around. Sometimes glancing around to the others as they ran around and she muttered. "If anything goes wrong, I'm going to kill the nurses."
Richard takes the birthing plan and glances down at it confused, then shakes his head waiting for a nurse to take Lulu.
Martin squints around from the florescent lights and checks his phone to see if Havana texted him before looking around. "So...what now?"
Tanner: squeezes Lulu's hand lightly before letting go and heading to the front desk. "Now, we fill out forms and hope the nurses here know what they're doing." He said, shooting a charming smile to one of the ladies behind the desk.
Lulu waits patiently for a bit before being taken to a room. For the next five and a half hours, Lulu was in labor and it was hard and painful but regardless it was happening.
Havana arrived ten minutes after Izzy arrived and when all was said and done, a beautiful baby girl was born. Tanner's hand even lived through the mess, only claw marks on his arm that would heal up nicely.
Richard looks over at everyone when the nurse comes out and says they can come in. He looks over at Isabella, knowing she had just lost her baby and it was still a little rough on her. He held out her hand to her, "Want to go see her?" He asked. Isabella looked up at him and nodded, taking his hand and walked in.
Martin watches Rich and Izzy then looks over to Havana. "Let's go see the baby, yeah?" He said standing and nodding towards the room before draping his arm over her shoulders and walking into the room. "How ya doing Lu?"
Tanner: with claw marks and all, was a Dad. Months of waiting and here she was. Grinning down at Lulu, Tanner reaches out and strokes her cheek before leaning down and kissing Lulu's forehead. In this moment he was as happy as he had ever been. Looking up at the others, he simply smiled and turned his attention back to his little angel.
Lulu perked a brow at both Bella with Richard and Marty with his arm around a blonde that she knew worked at Tyler's bar and smirked. "Look, it's the couples room," she teased lightly before laying back, exhausted and slightly sweaty. "I feel like I pushed a watermelon out of me, I'm tired but look at her. " She smiled a little bit. Havana just snuggled into Martin a little bit before giving a wave, but staying silent.
Richard drops Isabella's hand "I-I was just helping her in here." He said looking down at the baby. "She's beautiful. You two did a good job." He said giving a thumbs up at the new parents. Isabella stood there far back looking down at the baby smiling a little bit. "She's cute." She agreed, nodding her head.
Martin furrowed his brow and shook his head. "Havana is just a buddy. Milkshake buddy." He nodded before looking over at the baby. "She's.. perfect, Lu. Really perfect." He grinned, patting Tanner on the back. "You did alright."
Tanner: barely noticed anything that was happening around him, except for his little angel and Lulu. He did send Martin a grin though. "Thanks dude. She's my little angel..."
Lulu just smiled a bit before motioning to Tanner to go call his mom and dad about the baby before looking at her two brothers. "Mhm. Milkshake buddy." Havana couldn't help but snicker and bury her face into Martin's shoulder lightly. "Her name is Bethany. And, she's one hundred percent healthy."
Richard smiled, "I like that name. Little Beth." Reaches down and touches the baby's hand. "Look how tiny her hands are!" Smiles even bigger. Isabella continues just standing there, not wanting to get close to the baby.
Martin glanced over at Havana and gave her a small smile before pulling her a bit further into his side. "She's so tiny. And that cone head. God." He chuckled. Glancing over at Izzy, he frowned a bit. "You okay, Bella?" He asked, trying to be polite.
Lulu frowned a bit looking over to Bella. "Crap, I'm sorry Bells, I didn't -" she sighed. "Richard? Maybe you can give Bells a ride home yeah? She looks exhausted," she knew the reason why Izzy was so down and she felt bad now for asking her to come. "Her little cone head is cute, isn't it?" Havana kissed Martin's cheek and excused herself, going to go gather some coffees for everyone and patted Bella's shoulder on the way out.
Richard: looks over at Isabella and then at Lulu. "Alright. I'll take her home." Isabella shook her head. "No it's okay. I drove here." She said looking at Bethany. "It's alright though, I am glad I was here." She smiled a little, walking over and giving Lulu a hug and then looked down at Beth. "Welcome to the world hun." She said and kissed Beth on the forehead. "I-I think I will go now." She said giving a goodbye hug to Lulu.
Martin blushed slightly when Havana kissed his cheek and watched her walk out of the room before looking back to everyone. "Its very cute." He nodded, examining the baby from afar cause hes afraid of hurting it. "It was good to see you 'round, Bella." He nodded to her.
Lulu hugged Bella back before looking to Richard to follow her. "I don't think she should be alone right now," she whispered and then turned back to her blushy brother. "Does my little brother have a crush?"
Richard looks at Lulu, "Alright I will go follow her." Gives the keys to Martin. "Pick me up at Izzy's. Make sure you treat my baby with respect, and don't punch it or anything." He joked about the other night and leaves the room.
Martin grins at his brother and takes the keys. "Glad you were here, man." He nodded to him. "My punches are reserved especially for you." He chuckled before looking to Lulu. "I do not have a crush!
Lulu smiles at Richard and waves. "Thanks Richard, for coming." Then she looks at Martin. "Mhm, you always blush when a girl kisses your cheek? She's cute. Who is she exactly?"
Martin shrugs. "I mean. You know I'm weird around girls. I dunno." He said, looking down. "She's Havana. We met almost 2 weeks ago? Hung out one night watched the Terminator and fell asleep. Then went for milkshakes over the weekend. I dont know. She's just cool."
Lulu scoots over on the bed and motions him to sit. "Oh little brother, I know you're bad around girls but correct me if I'm wrong of course, to which I'll tell you that you're a liar because that's my job to tease you, but do you like her? I know she works at that Moonshine bar."
Martin sits beside her, running a hand through his hair and looking down at the baby. "She's cute." He murmured before looking to her. "I.. like her? I don't know. Maybe. We just met." He said, shrugging a shoulder and running his finger along Beth's tiny hand.
Lulu grinned and nudged him. "It's cute. You seem happy and that's all that matters." She was just glad it wasn't Amelia because she really just didn't like that girl. "You met two weeks ago. I knew I liked Tanner a week after meeting him." The baby stirred and gurgled and Lulu giggled. "Aww, she's so cute.."
Martin shrugged his shoulders. "I guess. I don't know. I just. It's not my priority. If it happens, it happens." He said simply, smiling down at the baby. "Yeah, she is. I'm so proud of you, Lu."
Lulu smiles and leans her head against his shoulder. "I am never doing this again though, but I think the depression is gone? Maybe? I don't really know why I was so down in the first place. Think Mama will be proud?"
Martin leans his head against hers. "I hope it's gone. I don't know how it could still be here when you have this little bundle of joy." He grins, looking at her without moving his head. "Yeah, I do. Real proud, Lu. We all are. So of course she would be too."
Lulu laughs and yawns closing her eyes. "If it's not then just smack me okay?" she nudged his arms and yawned again. "Take her for a bit? Till they come and get her? I don't want to drop her."
Martin nodded, hesitating, but taking the small baby in his arms and cradling her to his body. "Hey there.." he said softly, smiling down at her.
