Belle gave a soft smile, patting the mannequin on the back, then her friend. "Does the perfect man truly exist? Have you seen my exes?" She gave a fake pout. "Awww, babe, no. You are way too pretty to never leave the house. The world needs your pretty face."
"Oh yes, i've seen your exes." She rolled her eyes, this time offering the mannequin hand to her friend. "And on further thought... you are better off taking the mannequin. You have really bad taste." She continued to ramble, amused by herself. "Oh the world can still have my face, but heavily filtered and put on facebook. Like one of those facebook meme mom's."
Nate's grin only grew wider when the girl laughed at him. He loved that, he loved making people laugh... he especially loved making Jazz laugh. "I hope you credit me. I copyrighted the words Authentic Disaster," he continued to laugh. "To be honest, I lose track of the things I call myself on my streams."
"Ah damn, that was you that trademarked that?" She sighed, faking frustration. "I'm sure if you look on reddit some helpful teen with too much time on their hands will have made you a list." She rambled away, clumsily propping the mannequin back up. "See, he looks better then he did before."
arlo watches as she puts the first hand back in, he passes the other one over to her. he laughs at her words, "oh that's clever, i like it" arlo replies. he nods, "you're a comedic genius" arlo gives the other a smile, "i wish i could come up with jokes like that".
Jazz took a short bow, before realising that the shop attendant was clearly staring at the pair that had been interfering with the mannequin. She gave the lady a short sweet wave, faking a smile. "I'll be here all week and i do accept tips. Or at least i'll let you buy me a coffee."
"The only right answer is a million because you're Celeste. And that's what you deserve," he replied with a laugh. Though he really did mean it. "None, I just got back. So I was in the middle of travelling. I am also a single Pringle right now."
Cel shrugged her shoulders. "The answer is one." She held the card out to him. "It's from my dad." She laughed shaking her head. "Oh?" She quirked an eyebrow. She'd had her history with Graham. "Is that the term you're officially going to use?"
"Guess how many valentine's i got this year?" Celeste popped a love heart in her mouth that she had purchased herself. She'd had a rough time since she'd left Tristan. She couldn't quite muster the courage to go out and get a date for valentine's day. Yet, she was complaining to anyone who would listen about it. "Any way... did you go on any dates?"
Open to all.
Outside in centre of Heartford. @heartfordstarters
Belle smiled gently, pointing up at the sky. "I miss the sun," she started. "I am so over being cold now. I can't wait for spring and eating outside again and going for walks. I am just so over this winter, you know?" she rambled on to the poor person who had been near her.
Dawson was having a smoke, standing out in the cold. His dad would kill him if he was ever caught. Even nearing thirty, his parents could still make him feel guilty when he did something they disagreed with. "I don't know, i don't mind huddling up close to eachother for warmth." He joked with a cheeky smile.
Nate laughed, unable to hide his playful grin back at Jazz. "Alright, alright, brilliant it is then. I truly apologise," he teased with his usual happy tone. "And you know me, I'm not about that plastic life. I mean, mine is a real, messy, authentic disaster." He let out another laugh, clearly joking.
Jazz did her best to hold it together and be cool, but in the end she ended up laughing at the man's words. "That's actually what it says on my tinder profile. Jasmine Morel. Authentic disaster." She spoke with her hands - spelling out each word with a fist pump. She pushed the hand back into the mannequin. "See, i can even fix my own messes."
arlo was wandering through heartford mall, looking for a birthday gift for one of his sisters. he notices jazz bump into the mannequin, arlo has to hold in a laugh, it was quite funny, "yeah, 'course i can" he says, holding onto the arm of the mannequin, "go on, you put the hand back in".
Jazz slipped one of the hands back in with a clonk. She then held her hand out for the second one. "See you were incredibly handy there." She grinned, pausing as if she was waiting for imaginary applause. "See what i did there?"
Belle had been lost in thought, absentmindedly bopping her head along to the generic pop song playing in the store. The closer she got to thirty... the less she seemed to recognise the songs. Though her friend's comment made her burst out laughing. "Oh wow, you really had that mannequin crumbling for you. Maybe if you put it back together, some movie magic will turn him into the perfect guy. Isn't that some 80s thing?"
Jazz quirked an eyebrow, standing with one of her hands on her hip and the mannequin's hand on her other. "Let's face it. At this stage it's the only way i'm getting a perfect man." She sighed, clumsily attempting to stick it back together. "I'm starting to think maybe i should go full spinster. Just never leave the house."
Nate was distracted at the best of times but in a busy hopping mall with the crowds, the lights, the sounds... his mind was everywhere. It took him a moment to realise that someone was talking to him, those his face instantly lit up when he saw the girl. "Wow," he couldn't hold back his laugh. "That joke was so bad, it was almost brilliant. And that guy was definitely falling at your feet... falling to pieces," he rambled on.
Jazz grinned, happy to see Nate. She didn't often see him in the mall, but she was happy to grasp any time she could with one of her best friends. "Almost brilliant...? Almost?" She questioned, Jazz did everything she could to the best of her ability. "As he should - too many men these days are just plastic you know. No real substance."
Jazz had just been browsing, minding her own business, when her body collided with a mannequin—and just like that, its hand popped right off. She caught it on instinct. But now she was just standing there, holding a very obviously detached mannequin hand. She turned to the person next to her, expression carefully neutral "Could you give me a hand?" She offered, waving the arm with perfect timing.
Celeste was born and raised in Heartford. Her father, a Catholic man, and her mother, Anna, a free spirit, met at a music festival and shared a weekend of passion—a weekend that resulted in a pregnancy and, soon after, a wedding. Celeste grew up in a suburb of Heartford and had a close relationship with both her parents. For a few of her early years, she was homeschooled by her father, who was dedicated to her education. But as Cel got older, she wanted to spend more time with other children, so her father gave in and sent her to a mainstream middle school.
She appreciates everything her parents did for her, recognising the dedication it took. Family is incredibly important to her, and she has never felt the urge to leave Heartford. When she was a child, her parents got divorced, and her mother left the city. Now, she rarely sees her mother, aware that she’s off following her latest whim. Because of this, Cel is a practical person who always thinks before acting.
Celeste also has a half-sister through her mother, named Sadie. A few years after Cel’s parents divorced, Anna had moved on with her life and, during one of her many adventures, had a second daughter. Celeste met Sadie when she was still a young girl, and though they don’t see each other often Celeste feels a strong bond with her.
As a teenager, Cel was always taught the meaning of hard work and held several jobs in town. She moved out of her family home at 25, settling into a small apartment in Riverside.
Cel attended college locally and initially trained as a nurse. However, after a few years of work, her ambition began to show, and she retrained as a midwife. Her work is extremely important to her, and she takes her responsibilities seriously. No matter what is going on in her life, Cel gives everything to her patients when she’s at work. In her teenage years, she had a fiery spirit and a close-knit group of friends who often got into trouble together. Cel believes in star signs and fate, and her decisions are often influenced by the horoscope page in the newspaper.
Her belief in fate ties closely to a recent event where she left her fiancé at the altar. Celeste and Tristan met at work, and their relationship blossomed quickly. Everything she’d ever been taught suggested that she was truly in love. Tristan was romantic and wanted to do things traditionally. He proposed, and feeling the pressure from those around her, Cel accepted. But as the wedding day drew nearer, she kept staring at the wedding dress hanging above her bedroom door, feeling uncertain. She couldn’t go through with it. Cel called her aunt and best friend, letting them know she was calling the whole thing off. She spent the next two weeks canceling flowers, caterers, and the honeymoon. She knew her father was disappointed, as was the rest of her family, but Cel is certain she did the right thing for herself.
