lost in the heat of it all

Wes Xander Dawson  drummer for R E C K L E S S twenty seven | ocean park blvd resident The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.

[wesdawsn]

bree-aldridge·:

Being home and being on tour was a bit of a difference for Bree. Of course she was a party girl when at home but she also had a job. One that required her to be up early normally. It had been flipped for the couple of days she’d been home from tour though. Instead she’d been sleeping in and filling her nights with Netflix marathons and postmates. It had become the new normal while she tried to adjust. Tonight though she figured why not get out of the house and doing something else. Going to the pier wasn’t very productive but it was close to home and there would at least be some human contact. Upon arriving she spotted a very familiar face, one she’d gotten used to for years plus the time on tour. Wes. She walked over to where he’d been standing. Listening to his words before answering. “Way colder than you want to find out trust me. Back in high school me and my friends went skinny dipping and let’s just say it was the first and last time we did it. It was in the winter though so that may have been our fuck up,“ She shrugged her shoulders “Jet lag messing with you too?” She asked him.

One thing that never seemed to change was how much he was perfectly fine with Bree’s presence at any given moment. They had both seen each other during the best of times and some forgettable times as far as their careers went. Seeing her again today despite having been around her all tour, he smiled, “That definitely sounds like something that’s gonna take up a few lines in your biography. Bet most people wouldn’t believe half the stuff you’ve gotten yourself into,” he laughed softly, running his hands through his hair, taking a step away from the rail. “Jet lag feels about a hundred times worse than it ever has before and I have no idea how to get rid of it.” That much was obvious though, given they were both out rather than resting at home after the hellishly busy time they had. “I’m having the worst time getting sleep and eating which is crazy cause for an entire week I did nothing but dream about going to In-n-out for a burger.”

[wesdawsn]

safiyebarnes·:

Safiye kept her eyes on him while she waited for him to respond to what she was saying. When he finally did she gave a soft laugh. “Don’t worry I won’t ask anymore. I’ll find someone who excels in this kinda thing.” Letting him off the hook, she put all the cards off to the side. Figuring that it would be best to handle this with anyone but Wes at this point. “You went to sleep most of the time?” She questioned, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Wes is everything okay? It’s unlike you to not check out the food scene and to be sleeping. Last time you got like that was…” Trailing off, she didn’t want to say the words. “Are you okay?” She asked once more. “So you did have fun with a couple people on tour?” Giving a soft laugh. “Well you know you can always count on me. It doesn’t always have to be Alex.” 

He could go without spilling things to certain people but Safiye was not someone that ever really let him off the hook. She was, after-all, the first person he ever really let in. They both knew each other in ways that most wouldn’t be able to say they did too. Even after everything that happened between them, it was one relationship he didn’t want to cut — he was sure he’d always find a way to their friendship. “I’m as fine as I can be,” he replied after a moment which wasn’t the truth but it wasn’t a complete lie either. “I guess I’m just beat? I haven’t felt tired like this in a long time and maybe I just need some time off?” A vacation was on his mind but he knew he would find it difficult to jump onto vacation mode. “I did have some fun, it all happened really fast so I can’t even say I enjoyed it as much as I could have, but I’m glad to be back.” Giving her a knowing look, he shook his head, “You know you’re always one of the people I think about first whenever something’s going on. I’ve just been getting to know her a bit better. It’s been nice. She’s been really great.”

[dianataylcr]

Even though she had only been gone a little over a month, the blonde had found herself missing not just the people she knew in Santa Monica but the place itself. It had given her a newfound appreciation for the place that she had slowly begun to call her home. As she walked with Stella she found herself walking that little bit slowly to admire all the festive decorations that had sprung up. Stopping for a moment to take in the Christmas tree, a soft smile of appreciation for it found its way onto her lips before she turned slightly to the person next to her. “They’ve made such a lovely job of it, don’t you think?”

[wesdawsn]

It was week three since he had come back home from tour, and he was still spending most of his time out. Anything to not be home. The only time he really found himself being there was to check in on mail, or if Alex mentioned wanting to stop by. He still hadn’t told her that if it weren’t for those instances, he was hardly ever there anymore. Sliding his hands into his coat pockets to warm them up, he tried clearing his head and looked for the well needed distraction in all of the decorations that had subtly take over most of the city, only stopping in his tracks when he saw a familiar face a few feet away. Last time he’d talked to her felt like it was ages ago. Taking in the sight of the tree she was looking at for a moment, he waited before finally breaking the silence, “It’s definitely one of the best I’ve seen in the city,” he said digging his hands into his pockets deeper as they felt like they were only getting colder. 

[thestylesgifs]

[thegayfleet]

gavinleatherwood - Some of you think you know me…

[asherbennett]

“Now, I know what you are about to say and I think you are wrong.” Georgie groaned as she reached on her tip toes to put the final touches on her masterpiece. Curse life for be a tiny human being with tiny legs. Call it being quite festive during the holidays, but Georgie decided to use her artistic powers for greater purposes instead of doing just the evil, she couldn’t help it but sometimes feel like she could do some good instead of harm. “And I can totally see the old lady from the corner giving me the eye….” she carried on as she took a few step backs to admire her handwork, placing her hands on her waist as she looked up. “But, come on, you can’t tell me this doesn’t make it look a lot better than it was before.” She asked, to the person standing beside her. Her Christmas mural wasn’t as big as many as she saw around there, but it was simple and had the whole festive spirit in it. “It is good….right?”

[wesdawsn]

Christmas spirit was contagious no matter how much a person tried to avoid it. There were a million things everywhere that made that completely impossible to do. If it wasn’t the decor on almost every block from people’s front yards to light posts decorated by the city workers— there was always going to be something else. What got him this year was the music; every store he went into had Mariah’s voice blaring through their aisles or some other Christmas like song. Small things like this made it easier to fall into the spirit of thing too. There was no escaping it. Tilting his head to the side a bit, he nodded slightly, “I think it’s got a lot of personality and it doesn’t feel like you overdid it either.” He had already seen a few others with way too much fake snow involved to make it look decent. “If it was the front picture of a Hallmark card, I’d buy it,” he added with a smile of approval.

[wesdawsn]

itsalexandraaldridge·:

Alex stood there smiling ear to ear while she waited for it to sink in that she was actually next to him. Considering that they hadn’t been able to see each other for more than a bit on facetime for the past few months. “You sure about that Jack? You know how much I enjoy a little danger here and there.” She teased, she held onto him tightly when he hugged her back. Rubbing his back softly as she held onto him tightly, she didn’t want to let him go. Mostly because she feared that the moment she let him go he’d disappear back on tour. “You better not be. Trust me I didn’t want to miss it. You know how much I love seeing you all on tour, it’s one of my favorite things.” Putting her hand to his face when he pulled back from the hug, a smile was still spreed across her face. Letting her hand drop from his face after a moment, she rested it on his arm while they sat there together. “I promise I’ll be there next time.” Nodding softly to let him know that she would be there without a doubt. “I have to admit that’s nice to actually hear.” Blushing slightly at his words, she looked down for a moment and hid behind her long hair as best she could. Looking up once more after the redness in her cheeks started to fade, she kept her dark eyes on him. “I promise I’m not holding it against you. We’ve both been so busy that I know it’s not easy to schedule in calls.” Letting him know that it was alright, she wasn’t mad about any of it. “Do you want to talk about what you can’t get away from?” She asked softly, she put her hands in her back pockets. 

Shifting her weight from one foot to another as she looked over at him and took in a deep breath. “Have you ate? If not I wouldn’t mind going and getting dinner with you? We can talk?” She offered softly. “If you’re not hungry then I can walk you back to your place? A walk might help you clear your head.” Suggesting to him softly, she looked up at him. “Or I can leave? I’m sure you have lots of girls waiting for you at home.” She teased with a wink. “We certainly can’t keep all of them waiting, I mean what would they do without the famous Wes Dawson?”

There were a million things he could try to explain to her about what was keeping him up at night. Something in life wasn’t clicking for him and it was starting to drive him crazy. It was like some sense of fulfillment was missing but it was all his own fault for allowing himself to get caught up in those thoughts. The few times he had the chance to talk to her while he was away were the only times when he actually had his mind completely off all of those things. Most of which felt negative and he had found himself looking forward to their conversations more and more even if some hadn’t lasted more than five minutes. Now that he was back, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do more than actually get to see her in person but he had held himself back. “I’m holding you to that next time, I’m not going to forget.” Taking in a deep breath, he shook his head slowly after the release. He didn’t know where he would even start to explain the things that were going through his mind but once he did know where to begin, he was sure she’d be the person he went to. “Maybe later. I’d rather not do it when there could be a million other things we could do now.”

Considering her offer, he moved from the spot he had been occupying, “We could get something though. I kind of haven’t eaten since....” he trailed off unable to place his answer. “Well I haven’t in a while. I’d rather not go back home right now though, all the girls waiting for me were getting a little too rowdy earlier,” he said, trying to keep a serious face but a smile crept in regardless. “No girls back home. None — and its not a complaint by me. Lets go get something to eat though. I’ve missed a few of the spots here. You can tell me all about everything I’ve missed while I was gone.”

[wesdawsn]

if you could be any greek god/goddess which god/goddess would you be and why?

Achilles. Out of desire for more and undying loyalty…but even more for always having the one weakness to think about in the back of my head. 

[wesdawsn]

ktabacchi·:

“Why are you looking to jump or something?” 

He could never understand what exactly invited people to talk to Keegan. Not that he minded – in fact it often allowed interesting conversations without fear of judgement. In this case, he wouldn’t be one to judge if the stranger wanted to take the jump. He had been there a few times but Keegan was too chicken.

And then the other went on, talking about the polar runs. Oh. 

“I mean – Different strokes for different folks. I, personally, hate the cold. But then again as a California sun-kissed babe, I don’t think that’s unexpected,” he said, grinning at the other. “Guessing you’re not from around here?” 

Wes shook his head, a smirk coming across his lips at the others explanation as to why he didn’t like the cold. “You’re right, some things aren’t for everyone.” There would be no jumping involved though, this time anyway. “Maybe some other time but it was just something that got me thinking. I’m pretty sure I’d get a few odd stares if I did, not really for the cold but because the water right here always looks to be on the more contaminated end of things.” Shaking his head, he finally looked to see the person he was talking to, “Not really. Raised here most of my life so I wouldn’t really count my short time on the east against me.”

[wesdawsn]

safiyebarnes·:

“That sounds a little basic for me.” She replied, she gave him a knowing look. Safiye was a lot of things, but she’d never been that basic; boring sure, but just a basic card with a drop shadow? She expected better from Wes considering how many years they’d dated. “I thought you liked touring? What made this one so long?” She asked curiously, she closed the laptop. Figuring that it was useless to keep open considering Wes’ suggestion. Rolling her eyes once more at his words. “I see. Sounds like tour was rather boring. You didn’t have any surprise brunette guests did you? I mean I figured they were in charge of your place since you didn’t ask me to check in on it or the fish.” 

Saf was anything but basic and he knew the suggestions he was giving her were exactly that. He should have known after all these years that less never meant for in any situation for her. It was pretty ridiculous for him to have even suggested what he did and the eye roll was well deserved. “I think it would be a good option but what do I know about that stuff anyway?” he said mostly to himself but she would likely agree nonetheless. “Tour wasn’t boring, I just felt like I didn’t get to do much with time even when we had days off. I kinda just wanted to sleep most of the time. I didn’t even really go out to check out food scenes in most places,” he shrugged. Shaking his head, he looked away for a moment. “No guests. Well not many, I just asked Alex if she could stop in once in a while. You were kind of hard to get a hold of the couple of weeks leading up to when I had to leave anyway so I figured you had your hands full with stuff.”

[wesdawsn]

itsalexandraaldridge‌:

With Reckless coming back into town Alex had to admit that she was excited to see not only Bree but the boys as well. Even though she’d pretended to be busy Alex had cleared her schedule for the night to surprise Wes, mostly since she hadn’t been able to do it while Reckless was on tour. Noticing him on the pier, she walked over to him and leaned against the railing next to him. “I don’t know. Pretty cold. Are you thinking about jumping in? Because if so I can promise you this isn’t a scenario where you jump, I jump Jack.” She teased, she nudged him with her arm. “I’m not sure that’s exactly true. I mean eventually it’ll get to you, just your body is probably in shock for a while.” She tried to explain, she turned to look at him. Giving him a knowing look before she held out her arms for a hug from him. “Are you made that I didn’t make it out this time? I tried a couple of times, but Diana and I have been so busy.” She explained, she her dark eyes met his blue ones. “I’m really glad that you’re back, Dawson. I missed you a lot.”

Wes had gotten so used to going to sleep at weird hours only to be up soon after — it always seemed like he’d only get a single second to finally sleep. All of that had begun to make it difficult for him to really focus on anything and the person he thought he was hearing was only an illusion constructed by his mind. There were many times he had gotten the chance to talk to her, but it seemed like it was a million more times in which they had missed each other. One was working or simply didn’t reach the phone in time. Whatever the case was, he hadn’t heard her voice enough to get rid of the unshakable feeling of missing her. Here she was now though, Alexandra Aldridge in all her glory and he could hardly process it fast enough. “I don’t want to give you a reason to have to risk yourself like that,” he finally spoke, reaching out to meet her arms for the hug she was offering. Holding onto her, he began to feel a bit more at ease with himself since coming back to the city. “Can’t really be mad,” he said when he pulled away, taking a small step back to take a better look at her. “You’ve got a lot of things to take care of; plus you can always catch the next one.” Adding a smile, he hoped she believed that he wouldn’t hold anything against her. “I missed you too,” he confessed although he normally would have kept that bit of information to himself. “I’m sorry I missed a few of your calls the past couple of days… There were just some things I couldn’t get away from.”

[wesdawsn]

kadendanvers·:

She recognized him, from a past conversation most likely, or a face that occasionally graced the line at the bakery. “I actually made my–” There was a pause as Kaden tried to think of the correct word. Boyfriend? Had they established labels? Did it matter? “–guy take off his shoes with me and run along the shore with the water nipping at our feet. Huge adrenaline rush, I’ll tell you that. I don’t think I could do the Polar Run though, not unless I was very drunk.” She physically shuddered for emphasis. “You thinkin’ of doing it?”

From the corner of his eye he glanced over at her, hoping she didn’t notice the small smile that came across his lips. Whoever she was referring to was someone she clearly liked — something that was nice to see. “That sounds like it was probably more fun than the Polar Run would be,” he laughed a bit. “I mean given you probably enjoyed that water. Polar Run water’s temperature isn’t appealing.” While he hadn’t fully considered it, the idea did seem fun to go through with though. “Not sure yet, I hear there’s one coming up sometime in January but I’m not sure I really would do it in the end. I like cold weather but running through freezing water... not sure about that one.”

[wesdawsn]

safiyebarnes·:

Safiye sat there with a laugh when she noticed him squinting and making faces at the cards. “In the worst way possible clearly.” She added onto his words for him before tossing the cards aside on the table. “So what would would go for if you were going to pick up the card?” She asked curiously. “I mean true. You know I’ll always help you, but still I need other cilents to help as well.” She explained with an eye roll. “So how was tour? Did you meet anyone interesting?”

Wes wasn’t someone that, in all honesty, focused on aesthetics all that often. At least when it came to things such as advertising from billboards to park benches, and that included business cards. If it weren’t for the fact that the band needed to come up with album covers, he probably wouldn’t pay much attention there either. “You could try something a bit more subtle like throw in a solid color background and then just some drop shadow text,” he shrugged, knowing he was being the worst but he couldn’t really pull his attention to what she needed help with. “Tour was good, it felt really long.” He smiled for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest, “not really, I didn’t do much people interacting unless it was the guys or the crew. It all felt really busy.”

[wesdawsn]

your house is on fire, holy shit! you have just enough time to run in there and grab one inanimate object. don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. so what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

I’m not very attached to things but I guess I’d run back in for the journals where I’ve been writing stuff in like songs for the past few years. 

[wesdawsn]

A few days had already passed since Wes had finally gotten back to the city but he had made no effort whatsoever to fix his sleep schedule. He’d barely gotten around to shaking off most of the jet lag issues but the past few days had consisted of him sleeping through most of the day leaving him with enough energy to stay up through most of the night which was the reason he was out past a quarter to eleven at night, in search of something —anything that would help fill some time. Making his way through the boardwalk which was still alive since it was a weekend, he headed towards the pier stopping between a few people that were looking out at the water. “How cold do you think the water is right now?” he asked quietly as she felt a presence appear at his side. “I met this guy in New York once that was going on about how he does the polar run every year and he said you don’t even feel if it’s cold if you go in with the right amount of adrenaline.”

[wesdawsn]

millereli·:

Elijah listened to the guy, slowly nodded and pushed his glasses up a bit on his nose. “Are we talking, really old school like the phonograph or more like the Dual record player C5 505?” He asked, moving away from the counter and headed towards the record players that he had set up along the back wall. “Or a record player that’s also a radio?”

“Oh no not that much into the past,” Wes shook his head slightly, “but the 505 would be much closer on the lines of what I’m looking for.” He took a look at some of the items up on the wall, considering the question for a second longer than he should have. “Doesn’t have to be a radio, but if it happens to have the option that’s cool too,” he added. “Oh and I’ve got a question that I hope you’ll be able to give me an answer I wanna hear,” sighing he crossed his arms over his chest, “do you have any idea where I’d be able to find anything by Captain Beyond? I’ve looked in a million places and no one’s got any of their records.”

[safiyebarnes]

“Which one do you like better?” Safiye asked, she held up two different business cards for them to see. One was a rose gold pink with glitter dripping down it and the other was a gold card sparkly card. “Or are both too much? I just wanted something that stood out.” Safiye explained, she made a couple clicks on her computer. “If you have time maybe you can help me design something more appealing? That is if both are that bad.” 

[wesdawsn]

Squinting his eyes between the cards she was referring to, he made a face she knew all too well that gave away what his thoughts were. Despite that though he was going to try his best to be nice about it, “I think they both stand out a lot.” He glanced between the two one more time before looking back to her, “Alright quite honestly they both look different and have their high points but I probably wouldn’t pick up either of them cause there’s a lot of sparkle going on... and I have time even if I don’t cause I know you’ll just make me help either way.”