BLYTHE sat outside the coffee shop, her knees up to her chest as she sipped on a black coffee, trying to actively ignore the creepy guy at the table opposite who wouldn’t stop staring at her. She wiggled uncomfortably in her seat, shifting her gaze up to the clear sky and back down again to her coffee. Why was he still watching her? does she have something in her teeth, or what? the bell above the door opens and the petite girl is silently relieved to see a familiar face. ‘‘ oh hey! can you sit with me? ’’ her eyes dart quickly back to the opposite table, silently asking the other to agree.
As Joelle held her frappuccino in her hand, she was taken by surprise when someone called to her. Slowly she lifted her eyes up, as confusion sat between both laterals of her lips.”Me? Why?” The words fell from the crest of her mouth in a hesitant gaze. Joelle is not even certain the two had spoken a lot, not that was saying much. Truthfully she hadn't spent much time around anyone lately. Most hours were used to research the case that seemed to still be unsolved, and with dad not telling her anything Joelle was taking matters into her own hands.
“ Actually yes it does, thank you very much.” The sarcasm glided from Joelle’s lips, as she arched both of her brows at her sister. With everything going on with Ana’s case, or lack of, sometimes Joelle needed to play her own version of Annalise Keating and Olivia Pope, at least they got it done. No thanks to the police for that matter. “TV does have some truth to it, they have to pull it from somewhere”
There was mix feelings as soon as they saw their youngest sister. Jo knew she didn’t mean any harm but they also knew she was one of the last people who they wanted to see. She didn’t mean any harm but the last thing Jo needed was the family finding out their secret. As soon as Joelle asked her question, Jo laughed. Perhaps a bit too forced but they quickly coughed and tried to cover it up. “Well it better not be! I’m trying to deliver a package for my business.” It was a half truth, it was their business - just not the courrier business. “I don’t look in the packages, I just deliver it.” They nodded towards their sister. “What are you doing out here?”
Joelle’s eyes narrowed as she noticed the forceful laugh escape from her sibling. They had been acting so strange lately, everyone at home had. “You know you shouldn't take up lying. you're really bad at it Jo.” The half teasing remark glided from her lips, though there was some truth to it. You could always tell when something was up with them, just by their reactions, as evident now. Joelle’s dark auburn eyes moved their gaze down to the packages, as one of her brows lifted. She was tempted to question it further but there was no point. Clearly, Jo didn’t want Joelle to know whatever was going on, so she would play dumb. “ You know just because you have a business now or whatever doesn't mean you have to go awol on me.” The harshness fell from her mouth in a bitter tone before taking a step back. “ I won’t stay, but it’s nice to see you”
Luci laughed, teasing, “Oh? Is that how it’s going to be? You’re lucky I can’t give out detentions once you’ve walked across that stage, Ms. Hanlon!” In truth, he was probably one of the least likely staff members to give anyone a detention. He was too much of a softie, he always felt bad afterward- even if the student really did deserve it, “I don’t know if I can live with the embarrassment of a whole public Instagram story!”
Joelle arched her chin, as another laugh skids from the crest of her lips “ You like me too much, you would never” The corner of her mouth bent, before taking out her phone while pretending to start an Instagram story. There were a lot of teachers at the school she didn't like, especially after what had happened, so many didn’t get it, but he did. “ Your lucky your one of my favorites Mr. Carter, just maybe I won’t embarrass you after all.”
“Only on days that end with y?” Remi offered, trying to make light of the situation. Not that this was the first nor the last time there would be a human-on-human collision in this town. “It’s all good?” He repeated, simultaneously glad and also dubious. He knew himself well. He was all long limbs and sharp edges - the number of times he had accidentally given his siblings a bloody nose by elbowing them in the face while trying to do something seemingly harmless was a lot higher than he cared to admit. “Are you sure? You’re not just saying that to be nice?”
A small smile spread between both lines of Joelle’s lips. In truth, most probably wouldn’t have noticed or even cared to apologize, how could she even stay mad at that besides there was a lot more to be concerned with than some accidental collision. Joelle liked Remi. He was one of the cool ones around this place."You’ve got to stop apologizing, I’m good.” As the words flowed from her mouth, she arched her left brow once more with a laughing following as she listened to his questions “ I’m a Scorpio I don’t know if nice is in my vocab but it’s all good, alright.”
jake smiled when he saw joelle. it was a relief. at least she wasn’t asking if he wasn’t asking if he was okay or giving him sympathetic eyes. he was really getting tired of lying to everyone around him. “i’m not don’t worry, ” he said kicking the ball into the net with as much force as he could manage. “ how are you ? i feel like i haven’t seen you in forever. ”
" Good, then I can feel like I’m doing something” Joelle arched both of her eyebrows, as another partially teasing remark slid from the rims of her mouth. “ Even though really you're doing the work.” She doesn’t like to talk about it, and certainly refused to show anyone how much all of this was affecting her, especially Jake. She couldn’t even imagine. Joelle’s dark auburn eyes moved their gaze to the net, as she watched Jake kick the ball into it. “ I would be better if I felt like it hadn’t been months since I’ve seen you. And with graduation coming up,__” Her words trailed off slightly. “ I wanted to say hi.”
" Then write what you want, run it and by that time, it’s too late” The words parted from Joelle’s lips, casually as she shrugged. Her eyes glanced at the other in a placid gaze. She didn’t know much about journalism, but Joelle had never really done well with being told what she couldn't do; although theoretically, she knew it couldn't be like that in whatever career she eventually chose in college.
It was no secret that Remi was accident prone. He was one of those people who had bad luck no matter what he did, and he had mostly come to terms with this. Unfortunately, sometimes other people got caught in the crossfire, like right now. Why wouldn’t there be somebody around when he tripped on thin air and almost took them out in the process? Of course there had to be someone there, otherwise it would be too easy to pretend that it hadn’t happened. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?”
“Are you always this easy on your feet?” The teasing words parted from Joelle’s lips, with a small laugh following. Two of her index fingers pulled at the edge of her curls as both eyebrows arched “ It’s all good” The lines of Joelle’s lips bent into a smile. She couldn't count on hand how many times, she had almost ran into school mates over the course of the last four years. Was she clumsy? Certainly not, but checking her follower count on Twitter and Instagram could keep one distracted.A full-time job really.
jake was antsy. actually, he was more than antsy. he needed to do something about it before he no longer could control it. the brunette rolled off his bed, throwing his ball and phone into his bag and walked out of his house. smiling as he reached the soccer field, he took out the ball out of his bag and started to practice his shooting. he felt at ease as he did his drills. “ i have actually no idea if I’m allowed to be out here. so, if i need to move i can ” he said not taking his eyes of the net as he heard someone come up behind him.
As Joelle approached, a smirk spread across both laterals of her cheeks. She had never really been a sports person, which is why when she discovered her love for volleyball, it was just as a surprise to her than anyone else. It had been a while since Joelle had seen Jake. In all honestly, she enjoyed talking to him but as of recently she was trying to thrust herself into senior activities, it made it easier. ” Don't stop on my account.” The words parted from the brims of her mouth in an amorous tone, as one eyebrow lifted. Her hues sat on him for a brief moment.
“what if i cry at graduation? is that, like super embarrassing?! will i lose the respect of all my students?” luci joked, rubbing the back of his neck. he’d gotten pretty attached to his seniors and the thought of them moving on was making him just a little emotional.
Both corners of Joelle's lips curled, with a small laugh following. “ Just expect me to be putting that on my Instagram story.” Senior year had been much more difficult than she expected. Partially it had to do with the intense curriculum, but a larger part was related to Ana. It was hard and the unmoving investigation didn’t make it easier. Joelle would be lying if she didn’t admit that she would her school. Being at a place for four years, makes you feel some sort of way, even if you are ready to go.
Jo had their backpack open in front of them, trying to organize the products as best as they could. It wasn’t like the drugs were in broad daylight but it wasn’t until someone approached Jo from behind that they realized what a bad idea it was. “Haven’t you ever heard that it’s bad to sneak up on someone?” Jo said with a start as they tried to quickly close the backpack and stand up.
With everything going on with Ana's case, or lack of, sometimes Joelle needed to get away, even if it was just a walk around her neighborhood. As both feet stride forward, she was taken back when she saw Jo. Joelle quirked her neck to the right side, immediately noticing her sibling's stout behavior towards their backpack. "What are you trying to hide drugs?” A short laugh slid from the rims of her mouth. Her nose wrinkled as she shook head at that thought. Within the last months, it felt like Joelle saw Jo way less than she use to, all of her siblings really.
☆(Yara Shahidi / FEMALE/ SHE/HER/ HANLON + #6) is that [ JOELLE HANLON ] over there? the [ STUDENT] is [ EIGHTEEN ]. i heard they’re a/an [ SCORPIO]- which is probably why they are so [ LOYAL + HONEST ], but also [ IMPULSIVE + HEADSTRONG ]. did you hear that they [ STOLE SOME OF HER DAD’s POLICE RECORDS ]… hope no one finds out.
What is your character’s name?
Joelle Grace Hanlon. When Joelle was younger, most of her family called her Jojo, however, as she grew older that fazed out, and eventually, she came up with Elle as a nickname in hopes to sound mature when entering high school. However, her parents and siblings call her both.
FACTS
Most wouldn’t know it, but The Hanlon’s are not Joelle’s biological family, though they are the only ones she knows. Joelle has no memory of her other mother. When she was was just weeks old, her biological mother was killed by a drunk driver, and her father had abandoned the two of them, just days after her birth. Joelle immediately was placed in foster care, but the Hanlon’s found her and adopted her.
Because of the way her mother was killed, Joelle has a sensitivity to alcohol and prefers to stay away from it.
Being the baby of the family has its benefits. She knows how to push buttons to get her way, especially from her dad. For as long as she can remember she has always been a daddy’s girl, which makes his absence at home that much more difficult to handle, especially when it feels like he is not doing enough to solve Ana’s case, knowing what a toll it has taken on Joelle.
Growing up she never had a lot of friends, in part because she didn’t need them. Joelle had her siblings, but now that they are older, she often feels left out, like they all have their lives now, which means no time for little her anymore.
Joelle also has struggled with friends because she is a Scorpio, and can sometimes be intimating. She will never hold back how she feels and if one has a problem with her, she could care less and will do as she feels regardless.
Joelle met Ana when she joined the volleyball team her junior year. She had accidentally found a love for the sport, and Ana was one of her friends she made almost instantaneously. The two were fairly close, so naturally, Ana’s death has been traumatic, to say the least.
In some ways, Joelle feels the police are not doing their job and keeping information from the public, so she is taking matters into her own hands. Joelle stole some of her father’s police documents in hopes to find out the truth about her friend’s death because whenever she mentions it to her dad, he gives her the “ this is an ongoing investigation, therefore legally I am unable to tell you anything.”
With graduation right around the corner, Joelle is still uncertain what she even wants to do with her life.
