rory held her tiny makeshift sign in front of her, tilting her head as she examined her handiwork. the sign read, TAROT READINGS BY MADAME AURORA, crudely written in her handwriting. she bit her lip as she looked, before reaching for the red magic marker next her and adding some stars and ringed planets in the corners. “perfect,” she muttered, before placing the sign on her wooden picnic table and taking a seat. she had sent out a text to most of the residents of tercet court, alerting them to her $10 tarot readings she’d be giving for the day. with shimmery gold eyeshadow delicately placed in her inner corners and a starry printed headband wrapped across her forehead, she was feeling rather mystical. of course, this was all an elaborate way to avoid writing her album, but nonetheless, she was enjoying herself. “HEY NEIGHBORS!” she shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify the sound. “COME GET A READING IF YOU’RE NOT SCARED!” @linksopens
head pokes out her door to peer down the street at the resounding sound of a voice ringing out through the neighborhood. “SCARED? I EAT TAROT CARD READINGS FOR BREAKFAST!” she shouts back across the street before stepping out onto her front porch and descending the steps to head towards rory’s makeshift tarot card reading booth. “unless they, like, tell me i’m ugly and stupid or something. you don’t think the cards would say that to me, right? ‘cause they’d be total liars.” the pink skirt of her sundresses fluffs out around her legs as she takes a seat across from rory at the picnic table, pulling her wallet out of her purse and smiling brightly. “ten bucks, huh?”
“i think you just want me to call you cliché names like mon chou.” renan mirrors thea’s eyebrow raise, both shooting up in mild surprise when she mentions the guy from one of their frequented tea shops. “he does? really?” he thinks for a second, clearly intrigued. renan can’t recall a name, but he’s pretty sure he knows who thea’s talking about — huh, interesting. “but i don’t even try to flirt with him, i’m just, like, super passionate about kombucha. if i give people heart eyes, it’s because of that. totally not my fault.” and then he’s hitting her with the classic model smolder, the kind renan’s too embarrassed to look at himself make in print for longer than two seconds. “is this hot enough for you?” he asks, but doesn’t last very long before he breaks out into laughter, sending another small splash thea’s way. “it better be, because i’m not doing that again unless you pay me.”
“ok - mon chou is, like, really cute, so - totally wouldn’t mind if you called me that.” she pushes herself off, feet pressing against his middle like a springboard in order to send herself across the pool, still careful to keep her head above water. “he totally does. i think his name, is, like, ALEXEI or something like that. it’s russian, if it’s not alexei. like a, like, tolstoy character or something.” thea pulls a face at him and starts swimming back in his direction. “uh, you give people heart eyes all the time. like,” she pauses to think, “like when you’re arguing with fitz over stupid shit? total heart eyes. but it’s like,” she scrunches up her face and angles her eyebrows down, “like, mad heart eyes. angry ones, not mad as, like, emphasis.” thea tips her head at him and considers his face. “i mean, how much?”
“ i know you probably like, expect the paps to be around every moment of your life at this point — ” ayla sounds pretty unconcerned by the whole thing, nails with chipping navy polish tapping over the keys of her laptop. photo editing was easily the most tedious but also somehow also relaxing moment of the day. gaze floats up to the other, shoulders rising in a shrug, “ — but just a heads up that there’s one behind that bush over there. with a zoom lens even better than mine — so you know, don’t do anything too crazy. unless that was your plan all along. ”
thea squints in the direction of the bush. “aren’t we supposed to have, like, a strict no trespassing thing going on here? like - rude. do they have manners?” she’s not as upset as she sounds. if anything, thea preens a little bit and angles herself so that the camera will get a good shot instead of an unflattering one. “at least i’m wearing something cute today.”
“no, no, that ruins it,” he laughs, mimicking thea’s squeak as he lets himself get hit by her own splash, and then begins to protest, “heart eyes? since when have i ever made heart eyes?” it’s not immediately clear whether renan is oblivious to his super-charged adoring gazes or just pretending to be for the sake of riling thea up, sinking under the surface again before he can give any indication. he comes up for air at a speed that sends droplets flying in thea’s direction, and breaks into a grin at her splattered sunglasses. “that’s revenge for trying to murder me,” he says pointedly, and then tilts his head to the side, staring intently as his smile fades into something softer — his attempt at nuclear heart eyes. “is that better? or should i, like, make it sexier? i’m open to feedback.”
“does not. it improves upon it. i’m, like, a genius who couldn’t ruin anything.” thea raises an eyebrow at him and props her sunglasses up on her head so that she can hit him with a for force questioning look. “oh my god. you do, like, all the time. at everything. especially at the people at that, like, really cute kombucha shop. the one where the guy knows you and keeps, like, making recommendations? he totally likes you, by the way.” listen - she’s not jealous or anything! it’s not like they’re really together. not at all. even if the look he gives her now makes her knees feel a little liquidy. “okay, rude, i didn’t try to kill you. second - you gotta, like,” she reaches out and prods at his cheeks and lips, “like, smolder more.”
the cookie is finished off as fitz hums out a thoughtful noise at that, completely for show. “ i don’t tell you what to do — free will and all, right ?? ” it’s not surprising that his mother liked her ; his mother liked just about anyone just as most people tending to love her. fitz hadn’t been so lucky to inherit the lovable gene from her. that was fine with him. he takes another cookie from the tupperware even though he probably shouldn’t. a frown draws his lips down in a not uncharacteristic fashion, the soft dough crumbling between his fingers as he breaks it in half. “ — don’t you run a fashion vlog ?? why are you baking anyway ?? ”
“free will,” she mimics lightheartedly before sticking her tongue out at him with a laugh, “you know you like, love random baked goods. everyone does.” thea tip-taps her nails - long and painted a shining gold today - against the counter as she finishes off her cookie. “i can’t be a one trick pony! besides, i’m doing this cute, like - cooking foods from different eras while talking about the fashion of that era series, so i gotta brush up on my baking and pastry and, like, associated skills.” thea smooths the skirt of her dress, “it’s called content diversity.”
fitz takes a long drought of juice straight from the bottle because again, his house. the liquid sloshes against the plastic sides as he places it on the counter. leaning on one hand flat against the marble he drags the container of cookies closer with a couple fingers. he plucks one from the top, idly examining it for no reason before taking a bite. it’s pretty good, he has to admit, certainly worth the break in a carefully cultivated meal plan. “ so tell me — ” he begins around another mouthful. swallows. “ — did you bother my mother more or LESS than me ?? ”
-
thea finishes off her cookie with gusto and reaches for another, leaning her elbows on the counter and looking at him in thought for a long moment. “hmm...” she tilts her head and thinks about it some more, “am i bothering you?” thea faux-pouts and bites into her cookie with a little frown, “’cause i can totally offer my surplus baked goods to, like, any of our neighbors. i mean - i’d have to introduce myself and stuff, but, like - still. also, no. your mom, like, loves me.”
which, what ?? listening comprehension has never been something fitz has struggled with but he’s struggling a little right now. it manifests itself as an unimpressed look over his shoulder at thea. “ whatever you say, ms. lemaitre. ” he continues his stroll toward the stairs, pausing once more to call back, " — and if you do tell laura you didn’t hear shit from me. “ he enters his kitchen a few minutes later ( admittedly not much more clothed having just swapped out his towel for a pair of shorts — but hey his house and all ) to find thea still there. ” go ahead — make yourself at home, “ he teases, opening his fridge door to retrieve a half-gallon of juice. ” the entertainment at your house not suitable for you at the moment or something ?? “
“we’re not married yet,” she calls after him, going to the kitchen and setting the container down on the island before making herself comfortable and popping the lid off of it. by the time he has come back into the kitchen thea is munching away on a cookie and scrolling through her insta feed on her phone. “already have!” she chirps back happily without so much as glancing up from her phone. “not right now. i’m, like, all alone there and i gotta tell you, being like, all alone with a kitchen full of baked goods is maybe one of the saddest things ever. so,” she nudges the container towards him, “cookie?”
fitz shuts the door behind her with a firm shove, turning around with a roll of grey eyes — though it is less ANNOYED and little more goodnatured as he listens to thea ramble on. " did laura tell you that’s what happens ?? because whatever ryan said to get out of eating her baking is definitely a lie. “ it’s probably against the bro code to throw a teammate under the bus like that, but ryan can cope. besides, laura’s pies aren’t the WORST. ” i’ll be fine and the kitchen is fine. “ does part of him just not want renan to get the cookies ?? maybe. ” you remember the way ?? “ he asks, already wandering off in a direction that isn’t toward the kitchen, ” because i think your boyfriend would appreciate it if i put some clothes on. “
the rolling of his eyes and the way he closes the door is thoroughly ignored, just like most things that don’t benefit her. she continues walking backwards down the hallway so she can keep looking at him, brow furrowing for a second, “oh my god i’m totally telling laura. she was, like, so earnest about it, you wouldn’t believe. she’s such a cutie, isn’t she? total darling. mediocre baker.” thea balances the tupperware on one hand so she can do a so-so motion with the other, but she has to tip to keep the box from falling off the flat of her hand and catch it. a quick little laugh falls from her lips at the mention of clothes, “oh, trust me, i think he’d be pretty, like, stoked with this,” OOPS - maybe she shouldn’t have said that. thea giggles and keeps walking backward, “i know where it is! i’ll put them on the counter while you go get dressed!”
he does recognize her when he finally bothers to actually look at who’s at his door. even if he didn’t, thea always was dressed better than any solicitor that’d come to visit him to date — except those that weren’t really solicitors, of a conventional sense anyway. he doesn’t say anything for a moment, one hand planted on his hip. sorry isn’t really a word in fitz’s vocabulary — it’s a good thing his father never saw it fit to try to get him canadian citizenship because he’d be a damn embarrassment. but he does feel a LITTLE bad about it. “ you’d be surprised how many people still think my mother still lives here, ” he mutters finally, and does at least have the decency to sound a BIT rueful about it. he steps aside, a silent invitation to come in. “ you might die anyway — if my nutritionist gets wind of this. ”
thea smiles when he finally steps to the side to let her in. she has the decency to toe herself out of her heels once inside; she’s not uncivilized, and shoes inside? pretty bad guest manners. “what your nutritionist doesn’t know won’t kill them,” she sing-songs, though she does pause, “seriously though if you, like, will get fired or something for eating them i can totally go foist them off on, like, renan or someone. don’t wanna get you in trouble with your job over excess baking. but they are pretty good, if i do say so myself. not to like, brag or anything.” thea, as always, barely stops for a breath as she speaks, wandering a little further into the house before turning to look at him, “do you want these in the kitchen?”
okay, maybe he’s guilty of trying to check out the neighbors — sue him, it’s not his fault everyone in the neighborhood is unrealistically attractive. the pool noodle hits him, and renan immediately pretends to die on impact, falling over sideways and crashing underneath the water, remaining submerged for ten seconds or so. when he comes back to the surface, he grins mischievously at thea, and lamely splashes water in her direction. he’s courteously avoiding hitting her hair, because he’s not a monster. “my poor sugar-muffin-honey-pie-baby-angel,” he coos, and then bursts into laughter at his own nickname ( renan thinks he’s hilarious ). “i swear, you’re like tinkerbell, you’ll die without attention.”
“okay, how about we delete, like, three of those. i’m partial to sugar-muffin-angel myself.” thea squeaks and tries to dodge the splashes before replying in kind, pushing water at him playfully and pausing to adjust her sunglasses.”will not! you’re just making, like, nuclear heart eyes in that direction. make those at me.” she pouts with the demand, swimming closer and pushing herself up to drape her arms over his shoulders dramatically, half-heartedly trying to weigh him down and knock him under the surface again. “or else then i’ll die.”
she lines up the shot, pulls her arm back, and - throws! the pool noodle launches from her hand she thwacks satisfyingly into the back of renan’s head. “he’s not even home,” oh, she knows what he’s doing when he floats towards that particular end of the pool and keeps his head above water. thea slips off the edge of the pool and into the warm water, starting to swim over towards renan - careful to keep her head above water in an effort to not absolutely wreck her hair, up in a bun on the top of her head, “you’re starting to make me feel, like, neglected. in my own house! that’s, like, so rude, i can’t even believe it.” @renanlem
fitz doesn’t even try to muffle the exasperated sigh that falls from his lips as he wrenches the door open, half expecting no one to be there considering he’d been all the way on the other side of the house when the doorbell started ringing. “ i don’t want to buy anything, i don’t need to find jesus, and reyna alvarez hasn’t lived here in almost two years — ” he says, on autopilot, attention very much on the towel he’s wrapping around his waist ; more for the other’s sake than his own. okay maybe a little for his own benefit : he really doesn’t need any desperate paps getting a shot of him naked ; somehow he doesn’t think that’d go over too well with his agent or the kings organization. gaze is finally dragged up to the other’s face, “ — does that about cover it ?? ”
WELL - this isn’t the view thea had been expecting upon knocking on the door. “do i look like a door-to-door salesperson?” thea doesn’t sound annoyed by the accusation, though she does peer down at herself and her outfit as if trying to determine if it’s something a salesperson would wear; no, probably not. when she looks up she smiles and repositions her sunglasses so they sit at the top of her head instead of the bridge of her nose. “is this how i get repaid for trying to be a good, friendly neighbor?” hands come up to hold up a tupperware container full of cookies, “i’m, like - trying to learn to bake for a video, ‘cause i don’t want to fuck up terribly on ig live or anything, and would probably die if i tried to eat all of the stuff i made, so,” the container is wiggled in his direction, “snickerdoodles?”
☆ . · . emilija baranac, twenty two, cis female, she/her/hers . · . ☆ teodora stamatović lives in that huge mansion over there! no, not that one. look for the huge infinity pool and that’ll be it. the fashion influences has offered occasional glimpses of pastel pink walls and an impressive collection of vintage clothing in the background of social media posts, but all of that is nothing compared to seeing the opulence in person. they’ve remained + excitable as ever since moving to tercet court three years ago, but it seems like they might’ve gotten a little more - entitled too. maybe that’s why they’re rumored to have such a jovial relationship with everyone else who lives on this street. ☆ . · . ooc info: bee, they/them, 22, est . · . ☆
the daughter of world-famous supermodel mila stamatović and fashion designer luka stamatović, teodora was born into a life of luxury, cameras, and catwalks. her parents are noted for their work together and little thea was quick to be featured on magazine covers, paparazzi candids of the impeccably dressed family splashed across news stands.
her parents proclivities for both being spotted with other men and women has been talked about for as long as thea can remember. she was raised more by a string of nannies than her parents, who were out of the house more than they were in it.
thea began modeling young, primarily her father’s designs. she did more print than catwalk - too short to walk the runways of milan, new york, or london - and began to build her own brand off of that. her parents’ names always meant she would be in the public eye; why not build her own reputation from there?
primarily posts on instagram and youtube. thea is a top-tier influencer with several brand deals with vegan makeup companies and low-waste clothing brands. detests fast fashion - no fashion nova hauls here. her passion is vintage designer clothing, often posting hauls and closet tours wherein she talks about vintage clothing and styling it for the present. some people say she doesn’t have the talent to be famous on her own and relies on her name, but some say that the passion she has for clothing is commendable.
focuses on thrifting + reusing clothing and has pushed her father to be a low waste company. often posts about fabric waste and the side of the fashion industry people don’t like to talk about.
thea has only known fame and can come off as entitled and snobby. she, generally, does mean well, but doesn’t have much experience with hardship beyond a strained relationship with her parents and the constant scrutiny of being under the public eye and can manifest that by not being the most understanding person on earth.
went through a party phase that she’s at the tale end of. pictures of her wasted or wearing sunglasses at all hours of the day are diminishing.
something of a media darling. thea is always willing to pose for the paparazzi or for a selfie with a fan.
has been dropping hints that she’s considering starting her own zero-waste clothing line, but hasn’t started anything beyond rough ideas yet.
can be spotted behind the scenes at major fashion shows around the world, either hanging out with models or with her father.
WANTED CONNECTIONS
partiers - other celebs who are involved in the party scene - something thea is starting to get out of. someone who pulls her back in against her better judgement to have a good time, let loose, etc. bad influence type!
childhood friends - other kids of celebs! the sort who grew up seeing each other at all sort of media events they were dragged to as kids/maybe family friends who would have sleepovers while their parents were out at events that weren’t kid-suitable!
i’m a sucker for an enemies to lovers - literally hmu if you feel like we could have an enemies to lovers type plot, just personality wise, because holy shit i love this vibe sm. any gender!
lowkey ex - exes who ended actually mutually. the sort who are still friends and meet up for lunch and it drives the tabloids absolutely wild with speculation that they’re back together.
messy ex - exes who didn’t end mutually. maybe thea’s the one who broke it off, maybe they are, but either way there’s still feelings there and it’s not a clean break.
a smile broke into cecilia’s face. the relief she felt that the girl wasn’t angry or at the very least flustered was undeniable. “that’s his desperate need for love and attention. i swear i’m a great owner! but he’s a little traitor. he wants the most love from everyone,” she joked as she picked him up and lovingly pet his head, causing him to try to lick her nose. “well, i’m glad he was in good hands. and that he didn’t ruin your clothes. he likes to get dirty when we go out, which is terrible for my carpet.”
thea smiles at the dog and then his owner, giving a light little laugh at the idea of the dog being an attention-hound - pun intended. “can’t fault him for that - like, if i were that cute, i’d also just, like, run up to people for attention at all hours of the day.” well, she kind of already does, doesn’t she? let’s not worry about that right now. she glances down at herself and the absolute lack of paw prints on her clothing, a bit relieved herself. “not even a smudge.”
“ i’d never try to get out of something you planned , i love social events , ” she said sarcastically , following thea’s gesture to the slick furnishings around them and beautiful people dotted around , enjoying themselves . “ the met gala is over-rated anyway … ” she smirked , shrugging her shoulders in nonchalance . she grinned at her response and placed her own hand in thea’s , happy to oblige her . she was already here , she may as well have as much fun as she could , she thought as they headed over to the drinks table .
“and my name is - like - not teodora.” oof, that was rough - thea doesn’t seem to notice, though, already maybe a little past buzzed. it’s not like she pre-gamed or anything, but the blue whatever wasn’t her first drink of the night. “don’t let anna wintour know i agree with you. like - the idea of it is totally ruined when every guy rolls up in, like, just a plain suit with a stripe of color or whatever. why do we have to go all out and they get a pass for showing up!?” any outrage about this is lost as she bobs and weaves through the crowd, her fingers locked tight around nora’s. “what do you want?” thea has already swept up a different colored drink - neon pink this time - and looks expectantly at nora.
“ okay , okay —— ” she reasoned with her . “ it’s actually quite fun , ” she admitted begrudgingly . not too loud , but still full of people she barely recognised . nora swirled the small amount of wine remaining in her glass around for a second before tipping it back and finishing it , the liquid bitter in her mouth . “ hmm … so like , the beckhams ? ” she honestly didn’t know much about the hierarchy of celebrity families , so that was her best guess . nora smiled over at her friend and tapped her empty glass . “ do you want another drink ? ” she asked her .
“i’ll take quite fun as a win,” thea preens, just a little - it’s close enough to high praise that she’ll accept it. “unless you just said that to get out of going to a party planned by me. in which case, not a win.” she chokes back a loud laugh at the accidental (?) roast of the beckhams before nodding, “exactly. like, big enough to do this,” she gestures to the part around them, “but not big enough to be invited to the met gala.” looking down at her still half-full glass, thea hums in agreement before hammering back the rest of the sickly sweet drink, “another drink sounds, like, perfect. let’s go!” thea gets to her feet and holds out a hand for nora to take, hopefully, an expectant smile on her face.
“wait, wait, you were supposed to say no, renan, you’re actually super smart and not stupid at all,” he tries to copy the feminine lilt of thea’s voice, but ends up cracking himself up before he can finish his sentence. it always stings a little when someone agrees with his self-deprecating wisecracks, particularly about his intelligence, but thea’s compliments keep him from sulking where he sits. he can laugh it off, it’s no big deal. “for the record, i’ve killed many flies, like, at least three. not so mysterious now, hm?” with that, he starts nudging her feet under the table with his own, a juvenile attempt to distract her from the text she’s sending. “hey, cherry tomato, pay attention,” he says, laughing again as he leans in, readying himself to kiss her again once she’s done texting. at this point, it’s just gratuitous, the paparazzi already slipping from renan’s mind. “cherry tomatoes are cute, that’s why i didn’t call you a normal tomato,” he says. her near perfect pronunciation of his last name has him immediately going in for that kiss, gently holding her face with his hands and still not letting go when he pulls away. “sorry, sorry. i’ll learn your last name… ah, at some point.” renan dismisses, giving thea another mischievous smile as he finally pulls away, leaning back in his seat. “hey, do you want to go to melrose avenue soon? we could go to those thrift stores you like.”
“no, renan, you’re actually super smart and not stupid at all,” she parrots the words back at him with a grin, nudging his shoulder with her own. “oh, wow, three whole flies? i take it back, then. you’re, like, obviously a hardened criminal and not a sweetheart, i’ve got you pegged all wrong.” she nudges his feet back with her own, matching him kick for kick with a grin she tries to suppress but cannot manage to wholly hide. sue her - he’s cute, and funny, and she likes being flirted with constantly. it’s a real confidence booster. “i will literally slaughter you in your sleep if you try to make cherry tomato a nickname. like - it will be the end of your life. literally.” the threat has no teeth; her trying not to laugh through it probably doesn’t help on that front. the kiss comes as a bit of a surprise, and thea looks up at him after, his hands warm on her face even after he pulls away. “i’m gonna hold you to that. make you take - is serbian on duolingo?” it’s easier to keep up this conversation than talk about the way her stomach feels like someone released a metric ton of butterflies in it. when he lets go and falls back into his chair and does the same, once again fixing her hair. “oh my god, that sounds perfect. i need to find you a good jacket or something.”
