i'll never be the shine in your spit.

ted / 22 / high powered explosive rp blog

[tedtk-blog]

thirsty and miserable (ted, andy / september 17tth)

[andyblcks-blog]

She agrees to go on one condition: she was not wearing a bikini top in the fucking middle of September, thank you very much. Greengrass tells her she can’t go alone because that would be no fun and laughs when she says something like, who’s going to pull my hair back when I vomit? Andromeda only looks at her incredulously. The only person she’s willing to sit by as they throw up is Bellatrix and they’ve long outgrown house parties and hard liquor to have ever been in that situation since Bella was a senior, and she was a junior at high school. 

Andromeda thought she had graduated from this. It feels too much like high school, like Friday nights on campus and some fraternity down the block is throwing another kegger and it’s too loud, too crowded, and there’s too many bodies pressed against each other. For a good hour, Andromeda cradles a beer and sips on it bitterly until it’s turned warm and she chugs it down fast enough that the alcohol rushes through her head. It’s after some tequila shots, licking salt, and sucking on some lemon wedges that she is drunk enough to allow herself to slip easily into the this ridiculous fucking party. 

How she gets to the second floor, she can’t really quite recall. She’s looking for the bathroom, that she remembers; because her cheeks feel too warm, and her head is spinning madly and someone tells her that the bathroom is upstairs down the hallway. 

(Sober she’s miserable. Drunk, she’s less so. Maybe she has stooped as low as she thinks)

So, Andromeda stumbles inside carelessly, stopping at the door when she sees that it’s already been occupied. She frowns, shutting the door behind her. The boy in the bathtub is familiar. “Oh,” she laughs. “It’s you —“ She snaps her fingers and tries to recall, but none comes. “I can’t remember.”

[tedtk-blog]

Ted's about to pull out a cigarette because he doesn't actually have a lot of beer left and also doesn't quite feel up to leaving the tub for another, so he needs something to do, when someone stumbles into his sanctuary.

"Find somewhere else to –" go have sex please, god, assholes he's about to say when someone, a girl, giggles, saying oh. It's you. Ted looks up and sees a dark haired girl, her cheers flushed warm. It takes him a minute to place her – it's the eyes, that trigger the memory. "Oh shit!" he says, eyes widdening in recognition.

"Starbucks girl! Holy shit!" He can't believe his luck. Of course the crazy Starbucks bitch appeared in his bathroom. This party was awesome. (Brendon owes him coffee for two lifetimes.) "This is my bathroom. What are you doing in my bathroom?"

[tedtk-blog]

thirsty and miserable (ted, andy / september 17tth)

 He hates Gabe Saporta parties. They're always too fucking ridiculous –themes, costumes, elaborate plans and they're so rowdy. Ted wishes he'd stayed home. He could have gotten drunk in the basement and probably lured Lily down to watch some David Lynch movies at two in the morning. But Brendon Urie had showed up at the store as Ted was pulling the gate closed and begged Ted to go with him to Gabe's party because Brendon couldn't show up alone since he was trying to get Ryan to notice him, so obviously Ted was the right choice. 

The theme for this party is apparently somewhere between beach party and Spring Breakers because Ted sees a lot of people in unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts and a couple glow-in-the-dark beach balls being bounced around. 

The party is too hot and too fucking loud and Ted gets too drunk way too fucking soon. Shots of whiskey went to his head really fast, but he always remembers that too late. One shot was never enough, and a second shot never tasted any better than the first, but he does it anyway. Which is stupid. 

He kind of hovers around Brendon for a while, but loses him somewhere between his third shot, licking whiskey off his hand, and his second beer. Ted wanders around kind of pointlessly – he doesn't really know anyone here, save for Gabe and Brendon and there's no way he's going to hang out with the former and the latter has abandoned him for the greener pastures of Ryan Ross. 

He retreats up the stairs of the house, the music gets softer and Ted feels less crowded. He tries the first door in the hallway. It ends up being a bathroom. 

The tub is white, and Ted sighs with relief. The bathmat is blue and fuzzy and bleach-spotted, the shower curtain is covered in fish and spotted with mildew. It smells like bathwater and shampoo. Ted almost falls into the tub, settles in with his back against the tile and takes a drink from his beer. His toes press against the side of the tub. He can feel the thrum of the bass from whatever they're playing downstairs. 

He closes his eyes. It's quiet in here, at least.

[andyblcks-blog]

don’t you know who I think I am? | Ted & Andromeda [September 10]

[andyblcks-blog]

The barrista (a short blonde haired girl) looks up and stares at her. The other girl blinks, her expression is blank and Andromeda thinks she is panicking inside. Probably her first day at work. Probably, Andromeda concludes too, she’s just incompetent.

She is very much close to asking for the supervisor (which is probably overdramatic and unnecessary) when she hears a voice from behind. I have your chai. She turns, sees a boy who looks like he hasn’t showered for days, and then looks down at the cup he’s holding. 

“Unbelievable,” she rolls her eyes. “What even is the point of asking people their names if you just give it to the wrong person?” she mutters and takes the cup from him and leaves the one in her hand by the bar. “Fuck’s sakes,” She’s already late for her shift. Andromeda walks passed him, her shoulders knocking into his. 

[tedtk-blog]

She looks at him like he's gum stuck to the bottom of her shoe. He'll get looks like that, sometimes – but usually it'll be when he honestly forgets to shower for a while. (He showered like. Two days ago. And he doesn't smell bad, he made Lily check.) Then her eyes zero in on the cup in his hand. He looks down at it, sees a loopy A-n-d and then a blur of cramped lettering. 

She's going off about the staff again and Ted sighs, rolling his eyes. "You know they call out the names and set down the cups, right?" He grabs the cup she set down, his name on it with a big, goofy face on it, thanks to Brendon. She curses. "I mean, you could say it's your own fault." 

The look he gets in response is pretty brutal. She can deal, though. She pushes past him, shoving his shoulder and he spills a little coffee on his hand. "Fuck," he hisses. "Ow, motherfucker."

[andyblcks-blog]

don’t you know who I think I am? | Ted & Andromeda [September 10]

It’s not hard to make coffee, Andromeda thinks. It shouldn’t even take as long as it is taking. 

Starbucks in the morning is a practice in patience. It is navigating through a battlefield; perhaps, not as bloody but nearly as crowded, and with more or less the same aggression. 

She’s been on line for the past five minutes, while a man at the front of the line lists his order that was good for six people and takes just as long to make. Perhaps, even longer. When he is done, the old woman is next, and she is takes her time as if every single person on this line (but Andromeda is thinking as if I) has all the time in the world. When it is finally her turn, she orders as quickly and smoothly as she can. Routine. She has the usual. A grande nonfat chai tea latte.

When they ask for her name she says, Andromeda and when they give her her cup, they have written Andromeda so quickly on it that it looks like a scribbled line at the end where her name becomes Andy and she is not (that would be petty) Angry. But she takes the first sip and the drink is not a nonfat chai tea latte. 

“Excuse me,” she says as a man squeezes past her, nearly knocking the cup over. “Excuse me! Hey!” She catches a barrista’s attention as they rinse a spoon in the sink. “Yeah, hi. This isn’t a nonfat chai latte. This is only a latte. I asked for a nonfat chai latte. Like it’s not hard to take an order. I’d like my chai latte.” She stops and adds, “Please,” but it’s less out of kindness and manners.

[tedtk-blog]

Starbucks is swamped this morning for god knows what reason and and it makes Ted jittery. It's not early, but not late either – he had forgotten to bring coffee from home today, so Lily had let him run out as soon as she'd come in to grab some, bless her soul. He's stuck behind a girl with long, long dark hair that seems to be even more impatient than he is, though. Which is a feat. Ted can get ornery without coffee really, really fast.

There's also the guy at the head of the line who is apparently ordering drinks for his entire hometown, so like. Starbucks is clearly the happening place to be right now, at twelve-thirty on a weekday. Who would have thought? He ordered a basic latte, thinking that a little bit of sugar from the cream would help set off his edginess (he normally takes it black, except for when he really feels the need to get a kick, like now). The girl running register scrawls his name on the cup before passing it off to Urie and the new barista, who are working the bar.

He waits (somewhat) patiently for his coffee while the girl next to him seems to be having some sort of stroke. He hurriedly grabs his coffee and tries to make an escape, while drinking his coffee – and it's not his coffee. Oh shit. He definitely has "like it's not hard to take an order"'s chai. "Um," he says into the chaos, "I have your chai."

[rmslpnx-blog]

i just forgot you were there [remus and ted] september 15

[rmslpnx-blog]

The look Ted is giving him is much like the look Remus has been giving James all week. He huffs a breath and then laughs, nodding vigorously. “He is, he’s just…” Remus waves a hand vaguely. “I think he’s a little overwhelmed at how much he likes her. He doesn’t have a lot of experience with girls, and Lily is — I think — the kind of girl you really don’t want to fuck up with, so.” He shrugs.

Remus rolls his eyes and sips at his coffee, nodding again. He can feel the cup getting emptier and emptier and he’s so, so saddened by that. He just wants to go home and take a nap. “I know she does. We all do. I think James forgets that other people are people, too. He’s not the only one in the world with commitments outside of this godforsaken shithole of a mall.”

[tedtk-blog]

"She is," he says automatically. Lily's his best friend in the whole world – maybe his only friend. There's Victoria in his portfolio class who sometimes laughs at the things he mutters under his breath and gives him pretty honest feedback during critique but he doesn't really count her as a "friend". Lily's the only person that meets that standard.

"He seems like a great friend," Ted mutters, shifting to straighten the TOMS display (which, why the fuck did they sell TOMS anyway? They were a music and comics store, not fucking Journey's). 

A Lily-sounding voice scolds him for being rude. "Sorry," he says. "That probably wasn't nice." He looks up at the guy – Remus, squinty with sandy-red hair and an angular jaw, a juxtaposition of hard lines and shadow. "I don't really get a filter until my second coffee."

[nyctaeus]

Josh Kline, ‘Skittles’, 2014

Kline presents Skittles, an industrial refrigerator containing smoothies produced by the artist using unconventional and poetic combinations of ingredients including kale chips, squid ink, sneakers, phone bills, and pepper spray. Each smoothie stands as a portrait of a different contemporary lifestyle. When grouped together, they evoke a landscape of aspiration, taste, and – at times – deprivation in a metropolis like New York City.

[galactic-axis]

I SAW THIS IN REAL LIFE

[frogbod]

Visit Original Link

Common People - Fidlar

[rmslpnx-blog]

i just forgot you were there [remus and ted] september 15

[rmslpnx-blog]

Remus takes another drink of his coffee, the warmth giving him strength (but not nearly enough — he can already feel a cold creeping up, invading the back of his throat). “I realize this is extra fucking creepy, and I’m so sorry,” he says. “But the other day, I came in here with my housemate, James, and he and Lily had a chat. I don’t know if you remember.”

He drinks more of his coffee and blazes on, oblivious to Ted’s reaction. “She said she’d drop into see James and hasn’t yet, and I’ve told him over and over that she’s probably busy, but he seems to believe that she might be dead or that she might have quit because he hit on her and she never wants to go near the mall again. I opted to come in and ask, but since she’s not here, I suppose you’ll have to do.”

Then he frowns. “She is alright, isn’t she? Lily’s an incredibly sweet girl. I’d hate for my idiot friend to have scared her off.”

[tedtk-blog]

He listens to Remus's story, and does, in fact, start to recognize him as the strange guy who seemed to be way too into the Game of Thrones merch than an actual fan of the show (or the books, he supposes – but they don't get very many book fans, which is disappointing). 

Ted wonders if Remus notices how his eyebrows begin to crawl up his forehead as he continues, explaining his friend's … dilemma? creepiness? Ted's not quite sure what on Earth to call it. "Is you friend mentally stable?" Ted asks when Remus has finished. It certainly sounds like he isn't.

Although, then Remus adds that he hopes his idiot friend hadn't scared her off and maybe he is aware of how absurd all of this sounds. "Lily's fine?" Ted finally says. "She has school? Like most people, I would assume?"

[rmslpnx-blog]

i just forgot you were there [remus and ted] september 15

[rmslpnx-blog]

Remus stands when he hears the music change, glancing at his watch to confirm that the stores open in approximately one minute. Ted lifts the gate up and Remus just sort of stands there, staring at him. Then he realizes what he means. “Oh,” he says belatedly. “I’m not here to buy anything. I actually came to talk to you.”

He takes a sip of his coffee and walks into the store, unable to help the need to glance around for anything new. Remus turns to face Ted and sips at his coffee again, attempting to fight back a yawn and losing horribly. He smiles, sheepish. “I’m Remus. I work at the bookstore downstairs.” He points to the floor unnecessarily and then lifts his hand, scrubbing at his face. “Sorry. I’m a bit tired. You’re Ted, right?”

[tedtk-blog]

I actually came to talk to you. Ted tries not to look creeped out – but he doesn't recognize this guy. It's weird, it's definitely weird. "Oh," is all he says. The guy takes a sip of his coffee and walks into the store, leaving Ted standing there, confused.

The guy yawns and introduces himself as Remus, the guy who works at the bookstore downstairs. Lily's mentioned him before. But Lily isn't here. "Uh, yeah," he says, in response to his question, pointing at his name on his lanyard. "What, uh. Can I help you? With?" 

This is weird and he wants Remus to fuck off so he can hide behind the register and finish his piece for his life drawing class because they have a critique tonight and he's not even finished. 

[rmslpnx-blog]

i just forgot you were there [remus and ted] september 15

Remus’ brilliant plan to get James to bed at a normal hour and then read for a bit before he falls asleep himself absolutely backfires. James insists on staying up and talking until Remus can’t even see straight, and he barely manages to snag a few hours of sleep before he has to be up and headed to the mall to get there when it opens. Remus has pulled all-nighters before, but somehow this is worse, this I-didn’t-sleep-nearly-enough-and-also-listened-to-my-best-friend-talk-about-Vans-Girl-all-night level of exhaustion.

He gets to Starbucks early, expecting a line, but then there isn’t one so he has his venti quad soy caramel macchiatto in hand well before he needs to be anywhere near the mall. Remus isn’t usually a coffee drinker, except on mornings like this, and when he catches his reflection in a store window as he walks through the empty mall he’s a little disturbed by the circles under his eyes.

Given that he’s already acting like a complete creep and asking Lily’s manager whether James has scared her off, he figures it won’t hurt his image too much to just sit on the floor in front of Newbury, slowly sipping his coffee while he waits for the next fifteen minutes to pass and the gate to open. 

Remus’ life is very, very strange.

[tedtk-blog]

Ted spends his night chain smoking and trying to finish his assignment for his life drawing class, fiddling with trying to remember how the light hit the model's skin at the right angle. (Mostly, though, he smokes and watches Twilight Zone reruns until like two AM.)

He gets to work at nine, the largest possible coffee in hand. Ted barely manages to avoid dropping the gate on his foot and he becomes aware of what kind of day it's going to be pretty quickly: fucking weird. They've still got a little bit of yesterday's shipment to move so he puts on the soundtrack to The Crow and gets to work.

By the time the store is ready to open, he's drunken all of his coffee and switched over to more weekday-appropriate music (The new La Dispute record, because he's in a bit of a mood). He's pulling up the gate when he notices the guy standing outside the store. He's got his own big-ass Starbucks cup and looks as tired as Ted feels. He raises an eyebrow. "There's nothing coming out today?" 

[jamspttr-blog]

she's no good with words but I'm worse [September 10th]

[mslevans-blog]

"Fuck off," she says, throwing a roll of receipt paper at him. "He’s adorable. Just because you don’t have taste doesn’t mean I can’t." She sticks her tongue out at him and then looks around the store, checking for customers. There’s one near the weed socks but Alice is helping her.

Lily drops her head down on the counter and lets out a long, guttural groan. “He’s a keyholder at Hot Topic and he lives with Remus from the bookstore. His name is James and he likes blink-182.” She turns her head to the side to see him, hair getting in her eyes. “I’d know more if he’d gotten the chance to ask me out.” She hopes her glare is obvious even with her hair covering most of her face.

[tedtk-blog]

"Oh my god, you guys must be like, soul mates," Ted says, voice going high and doing his best Moon Unit impersonation. "He, along with the rest of the population, enjoys Blink-182. You're suuuper compatible." 

It's not that he doesn't want his best friend to be happy. He does. He just doesn't want her getting fucked over by a basic asshole who has an emotional history with "I Miss You", just like every other asshole.

But she is making the signature pouty Lily Evans face and it accomplishes its mission: it makes him feel like shit. "You're being a drama queen," he says simply. "You'll see him again – like you said, he's a key holder at Hot Topic. So he's here like every other day."

[jamspttr-blog]

she's no good with words but I'm worse [September 10th]

[mslevans-blog]

Lily watches him go, Remus turning to shoot her a quick smile and a wave as they walk out the door. Lily huffs a breath and pushes her hair out of her face, grabbing her water bottle from under the counter and taking a long drink.

She meets Ted’s eyes as she swallows and screws the cap back on, shrugging her shoulders. “Nothing,” she says. Then she scrunches up her nose. “You interrupted him asking me out.” She sounds just as whiny as she feared she would, and winces.

[tedtk-blog]

"Him?" Ted sounds more incredulous than he means to. "I mean," he furrows his brow, trying to think about what the guy looked like. Messy hair, flannel, skinny jeans. He was a dime a dozen, really. "I guess he's cute."

He takes a drink of coffee before picking up the remaining half-empty cups and tossing them in the trash. That'll be gross to take out later. He probably should have dumped the liquid in the sink. Oh well. "Do you even know him?"

[jamspttr-blog]

she's no good with words but I'm worse [September 10th]

[mslevans-blog]

Lily takes the cash from him, their fingers brushing. She feels another little zing down her spine and closes her eyes for just a moment to collect herself. Then the drawer pops open, hitting her in the hips, and she carefully backs up and doles out his change. She slides the record into a bag and hands it to him over the counter, giving Remus a little wave when he finally comes to stand next to James.

She meets James’ eyes and smiles, still feeling a little off center but not willing to let their first meeting end on a bad note. “You will,” she says, laughing. “I’ll come visit your mall corner next time.”

[tedtk-blog]

Ted watches their exchange from the corner of his eye, trying to look like he's fixing things up behind the counter (they are kind of messy, his old coffee cups littering the back counter). It's simultaneously very meet-cute and horribly awkward. Also who is this boy? Why hasn't Ted heard of him yet if Lily's so into him?

She promises to go see him later, which is. Strange. Also Ted's pretty sure he's seen that guy and his friends before – is pretty certain he works in Hot Topic and is kind of a tool (or is that the over-zealous dark haired one? He can't tell them apart). "What was that all about?" Ted asks, eyebrows raised. 

[welcometo-theblackparade]