when the lights go out

"All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant. All cities are beautiful, but the beauty is grim." - CM multiverse | multiship | semi-selective

[daydreambclievers]

she’s been turned down so many times this week, she’s trying not to get her hopes up when she finally hears someone answer. and maybe that was the right call because the answer on the other end doesn’t exactly make her feel great about the way this call is going to go. still, maybe it’s just a lack of phone skills and they’re great at flowers. “hi, my name’s clementine, i was hoping to speak to someone about potentially doing the flowers for a wedding?” and maybe she should give more details right from the jump, but maybe they don’t even do weddings and it’s not worth sharing all that.

[thosebrightcitylights]

sonny clears his throat as quietly as he can and tries to put his 'customer service' voice on. he pulls his calendar book onto the top of his pile and starts flipping to the dates eight months out. "I am happy to help you with that. Let's start with when the wedding is?" he asks, knowing that they're booking pretty far out. "i'll see if the date is available and then we can start talking flowers."

[heartfullofxfright]

“please. i could never, ever replace you. and i would never, ever get sick of you texting me all the time. no matter how many new people i meet, i’m never gonna love any of ‘em as much as i love you. you’re my absolute best friend and my favorite person. you are stuck with me as long as you want me. so it seems like neither of us has a thing to worry about.”

[thosebrightcitylights]

"and thank god for that. i don't know what i would do if i didn't have you in my corner anymore. sometimes i think you're the only person keepin' me sane," collins jokes. "how are you feelin' about all the changes though? really? i know it can be so excitin' and so anxiety inducin' at the same time so i just wanted to check in on you."

[daydreambclievers]

@thosebrightcitylights

clementine has been planning this wedding for months. for a such big event, it’s been surprisingly easy. which must be why disaster is striking and she has to replace the florist with only four months to go. she’s already been turned down by more shops than she cares to admit when she sees this one on tiktok of all places. not something she’d usually trust but she’s combed through all their social media and most of the reviews and they do gorgeous work. which means they probably won’t be able to help, but she has to try. it seems like her options are this or doing it herself. and she’d much rather trust an expert. she takes a deep breath and dials the number on their site, hoping like all hell this might be the miracle she needs.

[thosebrightcitylights]

it's been a busy week already and sonny has somehow ended up in the back office answering calls. normally he passes this task off as often as he can but his plan hasn't worked out so well for him today. he can't deny the social media marketing bambi's done has worked wonders but there are moments like today when he misses the simplicity from before they went viral. the phone ringing brings him out of his thoughts and he answers without thinking. "yeah? this is sonny." sonny winces. not his most professional answering method.

[daydreambclievers]

“it was a little bit bad,” arden argues back with a smile. she’s sure they’ll figure this out. or have fun trying to figure it out. she looks down at the list. “trust me, i hadn’t either. but i did manage to find all of them. and it only took, like, four stores and a truly horrifying amount of googling. this one’s got, like, four different names depending where you go,” she says, pointing to its name on the list.

[thosebrightcitylights]

marley laughs a little at being called out and nods her head a little to admit that arden is right. "you got a point," she agrees. marley looks at the spice and laughs a little in disbelief, shaking her head. "why can't some of this stuff just be simple?" she asks. "but hey, half the fun is makin' the mess so we better start gettin' messy. and you can tell me everything you wanted to tell me on the phone two nights ago but said you wanted to save for when we were together again."

[daydreambclievers]

henrietta gives his hand a squeeze in return and leans in a little closer. “early enough that the hostess definitely gave me a look before sending me over here to wait,” she answers with a smirk. she smiles brightly at his compliment, looking down at their hands before she looks back up at him. “thank you. i wanted to look nice for you,” she says, her voice just as soft. it was a special night and she’d wanted to look her absolute best. “i am too. really, really glad.”

[thosebrightcitylights]

freddie turns his head slightly to catch sight of the hostess. ah, so he wasn't imagining the eye-roll when she told him the other half of his party was already seated. "that's not so bad," he decides. "i think i double checked our reservation a half dozen times over the last two days because I didn't want anything to go wrong," he admits in a whisper. freddie feels himself blush at that. "yeah?" he can hardly believe it. henrietta was always stunning and the fact that she put so much thought into their date touched him. he smiles wider at that and risks bringing her hand up to press a quick kiss to her knuckles.

[heartfullofxfright]

“care packages? you’re really spoiling me now, collins. and i do believe i said at least once a week, implyin’ we could always facetime more. i don’t wanna bother you so much you get sick of me. maybe i’m not as endearing over the phone. and we all know i would simply wither away and die if you were to ever stop talking to me.”

[thosebrightcitylights]

"well, you deserve to be spoiled by your best friend. are you kiddin' me right now? me? get sick of you? not even possible. you're gonna meet all these excitin' people in the city and replace me. you're gonna get so sick of me texting you all the time to check in and remind you that i love you. and you're always endearing; on the phone and in person and everywhere in between."

[constellaticnsx]

[text: jay 💕] i’m hoping it’ll only be a day or two. i really just want to be able to be home and spend time with you. and maybe like two other people. but mostly you. no!! you have to wake me up, i need my goodbye kiss!! you are the absolute best, what did i do to deserve you? definitely exhausted but it’s been fun.

[thosebrightcitylights]

[text; em] we'll make it work and we will absolutely make time to be together just the two of us. i think that may be something we both need. i've missed you. okay okay i'll wake you if you promise to go back to sleep after i leave. you need to rest! and you dont have to do anything to deserve some considerate, just be you.

[daydreambclievers]

“marley, i know you’re not telling me we got this with that look on your face,” arden teases her. but maybe she’s right and they do have it. if not, she hopes marley’s mom will be better help than she knows her mom will be. “i feel like i get it until, like, here,” she says, pointing to the third step. “i thought it would be essie when i came up with this idea.”

[thosebrightcitylights]

"the look wasn't that bad," marley argues before biting her lip. "so it's maybe a little more complicated than i was anticipatin' but i know we can handle it." she looks at the step arden is pointing to and nods her head. "you mean the folding? i know how to do that. it's this spice mix at step seven that's tripping me up. i'm not sure i've heard of all those."

[heartfullofxfright]

“you better promise you’ll visit me! we can take on the big city and do a bunch of touristy stuff. i’ll save it all up until you come up. and you can bring me all the things i’m missin’ that i can only get at home. and we can facetime at least once a week.”

[thosebrightcitylights]

"of course i'll visit! just try and keep me away. i'll be sure to send your care packages with all your favorites in between our visits too. wouldn't want you to lose all your charms to the big city. gotta remind you where your roots are! once a week? never enough. twice or it's no deal."

[daydreambclievers]

henrietta grins the second he sees her. god, why haven’t they done this before now? she leans in when he presses a kiss to her cheek and it takes every ounce of will power she has not to tilt her head and kiss him on the lips. to reward herself for good behavior, she takes his hand in hers, wanting to keep him close to her. “don’t apologize, i got here embarrassingly early. i was really excited and couldn’t stay in my apartment. i would’ve just changed my outfit or hair a million more times and made myself late.”

[thosebrightcitylights]

freddie takes his seat and smiles softly down at their joined hands and gives hers a little squeeze. "how early is embarrassingly early?" he asks with a small laugh, warmed by the thought that she was that excited for their date. "well, if i may, you look absolutely beautiful. you always do, but tonight especially," he says, voice soft. "i'm really glad we're doing this."

[constellaticnsx]

[text: jay 💕] it’s a bummer, but we’re working on rescheduling so i’ll probably have to dip out for a long weekend soon. and of course you can stay over!!! i’ll take all the time with you i can get 💖💖 sushi sounds amazing, you know me so well. i’m so excited to see you.

[thosebrightcitylights]

[text; em] ahh then i guess we'll have to enjoy our time together this weekend even more. okay great. i promise i'll be quiet when i have to leave if you want to sleep in. i'll be sure to pick up your favorites and that roll you wanted to try last time. i'm really excited to see you too. this has been a long run of shows you must be exhausted.

[daydreambclievers]

@thosebrightcitylights

“okay, i have the recipe, but i’m not sure i know what even half of this means. i obviously can’t ask him for help since it’s supposed to be a surprise so…please help?”

[thosebrightcitylights]

"well, we are two smart capable ladies who can take on any challenge. and if that fails, we can always call one of our moms to talk us through it, right? so, let's just... see what we can do. it can't be that hard, right?" marley scans through the recipe steps, frowning slightly as she continues. "okay. no. we can do this. yeah, no, we got this."

[heartfullofxfright]

@thosebrightcitylights

“i’m just so excited to have my own space again. i think it’s gonna be great. the only downside of the move is not getting to see you all the time anymore.”

[thosebrightcitylights]

"well, g, it may not be the same as gettin' to see your face in person every day but facetime will help. you're right though. this is a great thing. and you are goin' to do so many great things too. besides, i can always visit you!"

[daydreambclievers]

@thosebrightcitylights

henrietta can’t help but smile when she sees freddie walk in for their date. it’s been a long time coming, but she thinks it might be best that they waited. this way they know it’s something they’re sure about. still, she might have been over eager when she got there so early and she’s been flipping between a giddy sort of excitement and the occasional nerves. “over here!” she calls out, waiving to him from her spot at the bar.

[thosebrightcitylights]

freddie nervously rubs his hands down his jacket before opening the door. he's been looking forward to dinner with henrietta but won't deny he's nervous as all hell. he hears a familiar voice and looks around anxiously for her before smiling in relief at the sight. freddie makes his way to the bar and leans down to press a small kiss to her cheek. "hey," he greets, his cheeks reddening slightly. "i'm sorry i kept you waiting."

[constellaticnsx]

@thosebrightcitylights

[text: jay 💕] hey my last show ended up getting cancelled because of an issue with the venue so i’ll be home like three days earlier than planned. i checked and saw you don’t have anything going on the day i get back, do you want to do dinner and movie night at my place? i’ve missed you 🥺

[thosebrightcitylights]

[text; em] you will be? i feel kind of bad that your show got cancelled but won't lie and say i'm not excited to see you sooner. dinner and a movie night sounds great. i can stay over if you don't mind me having to leave a little early for my seminar? we could get sushi from that place you took me to last time you were home? i know you don't get to enjoy sushi as much on the road.

[shxfting]

mei's smile falters when daphne starts talking about her mother. she doesn't say much, but it's enough for mei to feel a sort of pang in her chest for her. "i don't mean to go back to it, but i'm sorry that things are complicated." she can't imagine not getting along with her mother. she's her biggest cheerleader. "drinks next time we go is perfect, but you don't have to pay me back."

[thosebrightcitylights]

daphne shakes her head and offers her friend a small smile. "don't worry about it. things will be what they will be and i'm learning how to be okay with that. it's messed up but sometimes things are. i can still be amazing despite it all. i have a found family now," she says, nudging mei with her elbow and smiling a little wider. "please. you're going to listen to me bitch about baking for at least an hour. drinks is the least i can do."

[shxfting]

"oh, you don't have to thank me. there's not much we wouldn't do for a sibling, right?" at least that's how mei feels. her siblings are some of the most precious people to her, even if she doesn't speak to her sister anymore. she looks at the pictures and smiles. she can definitely illusion something similar no problem. "you've got it. your brother will be so excited to see it."

[thosebrightcitylights]

"that's true. my mom... it's really complicated. and i always wished she got her shit together when i was little but if she had then bobby might not be here and he's the best part of my family. even if he is being a little punk now," she laughs, setting the ingredients out again. "you'll have to let me know how i can pay you back. coffee for a week. all drinks on me next time we go out. just name your price," she jokes.