someone you'd admire

“how satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface. to make a map of my movement - no matter how temporary.” private rp blog by ana

[ohdarling]

Blue Monday | Alice & Jack

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

Oh god, why did he engage? That was his one rule. Never engage, unless they were instantly hitting on him, almost guaranteeing him for a fun night.  He didn’t want to discuss life stories, exchange tells of being an immigrant. That time of his life felt long ago, considering he hadn’t been back to Ireland to visit in ages.

He took another long and much needed swig of his drink.

The girl seemed nice enough, playful in her banter about Nessie. It was nice, she was nice, which was a red flag that he should probably stop talking to her right away. He had the tendency to ruin nice things.

“The American dream,” he said sarcastically, holding up his glass of whiskey before letting out a dry laugh. Thinking about his family was something he didn’t want to do, but it was something he always did. After a moment of silence, the man shrugged and let out a small sigh. “Oh, y’know. Opportunity arose here. My father got a better job that could support us. That sort of thing, y’know. You?”

Wait, why is he continuing the conversation? Always breaking the rules, always engaging and pretending he didn’t want to be.

     “Opportunities, right,” Alice nodded, taking a sip of her drink and chuckling. “Can’t get enough of those.” Though it was hypocritical of her to say. She had written down amazing adventures inspired by the unbelievable imagination of her beloved father, but when it came to her own adventures, she fell short. Her family was under the impression that she had been out in New York making money move, getting in talks with publishing companies and whatnot-- though she didn’t have the heart to tell them that she was in writer’s block. She couldn’t get the attention of any publishers much less write a whole novel, instead packaging her words in small, tiny, uncredited greeting cards. 

      Whoa, that was quite a hole she had dug herself into, and she hadn’t even mentioned the fact that she had been stood up on a date she thought would change her horizons about, you know, being blocked. If that wasn’t enough reason to chug down the rest of her drink, she didn’t know what it would take. She slammed down the glass against the bar. 

      “Sorry,” she said, chuckling, having forgotten a bit that the bartender was still there. “Neway. It’s closing time and I, err, should get out of your hair. Sorry about taking up the real estate,” she said, putting down a ten dollar bill. “Thank you...” she squinted her eyes in search of a nametag but didn’t find one, trailing off.

[youdadmire]

Tonight | Lulu & Luke

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

It felt stupid having this conversation with a mere stranger.  He should have let it go, let her stay down in the lobby to wrap presents and be alone with the security guard. At first, it was beginning to feel like a victory to him. She admitted her icy nature but quickly pointed the finger back to him. He was taken back by this, considering that was usually his job. He was the master at making sure the point of blame was on someone else.

“Look, I never felt like you were my responsibility. Ok? I was upset because I just dropped $2,000 on a flight that I wasn’t going to get to. If I was ever this ice king you speak of, it had nothing to deal with you. Shocking… I know.” He refrained from adding my world doesn’t revolve around you or I could care less about this entire thing. But she did have a point - why did he keep pulling her back in?

Getting up from his chair, he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of scotch he had stashed away. Pouring some into his coffee, he looked up and was usually willing to offer some, but he didn’t want to pull her back in.

“You can go, then. Happy Holidays.”

     Lulu didn’t know what to say. What did it even matter? Maybe they weren’t supposed to meet tonight. And at any rate, they owed each other nothing. They were practically strangers, just two people who worked on totally opposite sides of the building. He had an office and she had a break room that smelled like cigarettes. They were part of different worlds, and even if it wasn’t because of their classes, she still couldn’t imagine a circumstance they would get along.

      “Fine,” she said, gathering all of her things off of the floor. Once she was packed up, she left the blanket behind and head toward his office door, slamming it on her way out. All she wanted was to go home, but here she was, stranded in her building with some asshole and the security guards. 

       As soon as she got out into the hallway, she bolted for the elevator. Halfway to it, there was a sudden electrical whirring, then-- darkness. Zzzzzzwwwoooop. She looked up and around her; the only light coming through was the white snow through the windows. There was a moment before she growled in frustration. “I. Wanna. DIE!”

[youdadmire]

See-through | Beck & Luna

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

Luna was used to being behind the lens, never in front of it. It felt strange to be the subject of a photograph, the subject of anything, even though she knew he was just taking a quick snap for the hell of it. It was even stranger that he didn’t want to delete it

“I’ll figure out how to delete it one way or another,” she playfully warned him and shook her head, fighting back that wide smile of hers. Why was she smiling so much around him?

As his eyes suddenly stayed on her, the smile on her lips faltered only due to fear of what he was looking at. You really are like your name says. Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, mostly curiosity. Though she had often thought this herself, she wasn’t sure what he meant by it all. When he began stripping away his sweater, she suddenly found herself more confused than ever. What the hell was happening right now?

But to her momentary surprise, he laid it out on the grass for her to take a seat. A small, but kind gesture. Instead of pestering him with questions or even a response at all, she obliged and took a seat, taking off her camera to place it next to her. She looked over at him as he spoke, trying to find his words before he spoke them.

A part of you is always hidden away. The words lasted with her and mostly shocked her. It was almost impossible to shock the girl, yet here she was not knowing what to say. It felt like the first time in years, maybe even her whole life, someone saw her. Even if it was only half of her. She rubbed her lips together and looked for the right words to respond to something like that. Bringing her focus on her boots and a wildflower next to it, she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what you mean.” She knew exactly what he meant. She let out a forced chuckle and found herself mumbling, “A part can’t be hidden when I’m never really seen to begin with.” Luna often felt invisible, walking through this life unnoticed. Some days it was a gift, other days it was her curse. 

    Beckett couldn’t understand why the girl had been so timid. Sure, he had heard small things about her-- she was seen as a recluse, a hermit around school and wasn’t really considered popular, as if social status even mattered. But he looked at her and didn’t see all of the things that she must have been brainwashed to seeing due to the way people would treat her. He listened intently as she spoke the few words she did, fully laying back against the grass, resting his head against his arm. 

     He spent a second squinting his eyes at the sun before looking over at her, parting his lips. “Well, I see you,” he said, sincerely. There was a pause before he let out a chuckle. “Damn, I’m sorry. Y’know, I shouldn’t be, uh-- shouldn’t be prying so much into your life. It’s none of my business, I know, I just think you’re...” 

      Beckett trailed off and clicked his tongue, sitting back up on his palms. “Last night was great. You were there, you saw everything-- all the lights, the people in the crowd, all of them cheering for me when we won the home game. It was loud. But... for some reason,” he said, shaking his head, “and it’s gonna sound crazy-- but for some reason, I looked out at the end of the bleachers and all I saw was you. And... I think you saw me too. I dunno. Ever since that moment I guess I couldn’t get you outta my mind and it got me wonderin’ why we never became close friends.”

[youdadmire]

Penthouse Dreaming | C & J

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

Although it was meant to be a tease, she couldn’t help but to think back proudly on the thought of other guys getting word she had a damn of a swing and a bad temper. Sometimes these college frat boys convince themselves that they are gods, but people like Chey were there to put them back in their place happily.

After scraping out the last strawberry piece in her cup, she put her attention on the thawed out cookie dough on her hand. She lifted the package and hissed noticing it was still swollen, but nothing like it would have been without the cold. While attempting to bend her fingers, she grimaced and focused on his words to distract her.

“Plan B?” she asked, a skeptical tone escaping her. “Either you want to finally fuck or you got weed.” Of course she was only teasing, waiting to see his reaction. The girl snickered, stood, and took their trash over to the bin, though she held onto the thawed cookie dough. Maybe she’d eat it later or refreeze it. She looked back at Joey and nodded her head towards the door. “Well, let’s go.”

     Once Joey closed out his bill and even dropped in a couple of dollars for a tip, they head out of the frozen yogurt shop and back home. Surprisingly, they didn’t get into their Uber drunk, though he sort of preferred it this way. Maybe at first, he was in the mood to get shit-faced as some kind of stress reliever from moving in and everything. But the more time he spent with Chey sober, the less he gave a shit about getting drunk. It would have been exhausting to pay for it in the morning. 

      Pot, on the other hand, was sweet in all of its rewards and had almost no bitter consequences. Except maybe he didn’t like the smell lingering in the house afterward. 

      Joey sat out on the balcony with Chey, checking out the perimeter to see if anyone else had been out enjoying the view on this particularly starry night. When the coast was clear and he was sure no one was around to rat them out to the landlord, he rolled joints for the both of them and lit them up. “You know, I’m not all that opposed to fucking... if that’s what your idea of a plan B was.”

[ohdarling]

Blue Monday | Alice & Jack

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

The hint of an accent was mostly unfamiliar in this bar. Even his began sounding watered down, only coming out when he was around his rambunctious cousin or saying certain words.  There were many things about this woman that stood out among the crowd - which was saying a lot, considering Jack made it a habit to not let anyone stand out.

He poured himself some whiskey and took a swig before answering her query.

“Not exactly. The old bastard that does own this bar puts me in charge for just about everything, though. I’ll probably own it once he croaks.”

It was blunt, but it wasn’t far from the truth. Never did the man imagining owning a bar to be an accomplishment in his life, but it may as well be at this point. That degree from Law School was collecting dust and better off being used as a coaster.

After taking another swig, he pointed his thumb towards her then at himself. “Scotland? Ireland. Took a ferry once to Cairnryan as a kid. Nice place. Where ya from?”

     The man was certainly blunt, which was something Alice could honestly say she had missed over her past few years in the States. It seemed as if everyone always either skirted past the point of being over polite or dove right into rudeness, so it was a bit refreshing to hear someone tell it like it was in true Ireland-Scotland fashion. She found that no other breeds were as outspoken as they were, though she had to admit she had lost a little bit of that flair while assimilating. 

      So she nodded. “M’sure he put you in charge for some reason, probably to pass it on again once you croak,” she said, chuckling. 

      “Oh, I’ve got some family in Cairnryan, small world, eh?” she joked. “I’m from Inverness. Yeah, with Loch Ness and everything. Even seen Nessie a handful of times myself, though I could always say she’s never too fond of seein’ me.” 

      She smiled for a moment. “So, err, it’s a bit cliche, but I just want to ask. What brought you and your family here?”

[youdadmire]

Tonight | Lulu & Luke

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

It was cute at first. What could he say? He liked a challenge. When an attractive girl threw him a glare, it was mostly an invitation to try harder. Maybe it was suddenly because he was feeling claustrophobic stuck in this damn building or maybe it was because the Holidays made him tense - it was no longer cute. In fact, it was downright irritating to the man. If he had felt like he had done something to annoy her, he would have understood. He wouldn’t have apologized, but he would have understood.

Didn’t she see she happened to get the biggest dose of kindness he had to offer in a very long time?

He narrowed his eyes and thinned his lips trying to hold back that sudden jab of irritation.

“Well, you’ve been miss ice queen since the moment you got out of my car. You know, the car you got into when I offered to give you a ride possibly all the way across town through a snow storm? Yeah, that one.” Yep, he was still holding onto the fact he attempted to do that good deed. “I know we got stuck, but that isn’t my fault. Why are you taking it out on me?”

     Lulu shifted in her seat, looking down for a moment. Maybe it was because she knew that a part of what Luke was saying was true. He was at one point incredibly (and almost suspiciously) generous and offering her a ride in the snow was heroic, and perhaps she was being unfair to him, but she would stand firmly in her idea that there was a moment where that kindness changed. She glanced back up at him, ready for rebuttal. 

      “I’m not meaning to take anything out on you,” she said. “It’s just that-- okay. So, at first you come to my rescue-- not that I needed it or anything-- and you seem like a nice guy, offering me a ride and everything. But then there was, it was like a switch flipped in you or something when you realized you suddenly wanted to back out of whatever commitment you thought you made to me. Like all of a sudden I was some big responsibility you did not wanna deal with.” 

      She licked her lips and shrugged. “So this whole time we’ve been hot and cold, I’ve just been trying to get out of your hair. But you always pull me back. So if I was ever ice queen, well... it’s because you were ice king to me first.”

[youdadmire]

See-through | Beck & Luna

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

Photography was objective and full of various perspectives. Perhaps that’s why she loved it so much. Ever since she was a young girl, she was able to decipher just about anything. Whether that was due to her photographic memory or her attention to the littlest details, understanding things and the people around her was just as easy as reading a book. But not photographs. They were a type of art that could mean many things, and his point only made her theory valid. He saw a dumb hick, and she saw a human reflection. There was no right answer, no way to truly decipher an image at the end of a day.

She chuckled at his joke, shaking her head in disagreement as she continued walking along the trail. The sounds of the surrounding nature took over the comfortable moment between the two. Although a part of her still felt like her guard was up, constantly wondering just why he wished to spend an ounce of time with her, she felt safe - which says a lot in comparison to some of the other football players.

A small pond came into her view and she crouched down to take a photo of the ripples in the water and the light that reflected off of it. She stood up straight and reviewed it with a smile. When Beckett called out to her, she turned and looked back only to see he had taken a photo of her. Her nose scrunched up and she walked over shaking her head.

“No, no,” she chuckled, “You don’t want any photos of me. Trust me.”

     That grin on her face was why he had taken the photo in the first place. Beckett hadn’t seen her smile, really smile, in a long time, if he ever even had. She always gave half smiles like she had been keeping a secret, like she had only been half wherever she was in the present but her soul or her mind was elsewhere. But as they both looked at the photo, he could see someone who was fully there... or maybe that was his interpretation of it. 

      “If you wanna delete it, you’re gonna have to go through me,” he said, playfully grimacing. “And I don’t know if you really wanna mess with the star quarterback... even if you do look like you could put me in my place.” He smirked. 

      He lowered the camera, shutting it off and looking at her. There was a brief moment of him just observing her, his eyes narrowed a bit as he watched her. “You know somethin’, Luna? You really are like your name says,” he said, taking off his camera and setting it on the ground. He took his sweater off and placed it on the grass, patting it for her to sit as he sat down beside it. “I mean, like the moon. You’re... a part of you is always hidden away, I guess.”

[youdadmire]

Penthouse Dreaming | C & J

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

There were moments, small fragile moments that felt out of place in their friendship.  They always frightened her in the long run, though at the time, she took some sort of twisted comfort in it. When it came to Joey, she did her best to keep her heart locked away. It was better there than ever letting it get close to him. She distracted herself with frozen yogurt, deciding it was better to have something sweet on the brain.

After filling her cup with strawberry-cheesecake flavored yogurt, she added some fruit for toppings, then joined Joey. She took a seat next to him and chuckled at the thought of getting drunk off of yogurt. It was no booze, but it was a valid substitute for the evening. The sweetness made the pain of her hand, and the pain of the awkward moment, dissipate.

“Thanks,” she told him with a smile, not even minding the little nickname. It was all still a bit humorous to her - it was nearly impossible to embarrass the girl.  After taking in a spoonful, she let the spoon hang in her mouth for a second while she reflected on the evening. “This isn’t exactly how I imagined we’d be spending our night. Where are all the hot frat guys? I’ve got nothing to work with in here - no offense sweetie,” she called out to the girl behind the counter who just looked more and more confused by the second.

     Joey looked outside of the big glass windows they sat in front of. Past his own reflection, there were small groups filtering in and out of the streets, crawling between bars. This had been his reality for quite some time now, yet he never got tired of people watching. There were always some interesting characters every year-- every night, even. Looking at it all, being inside and apart from all the chaos outside-- he felt a bit lucky to be able to share these years with Chey, though he probably wouldn’t tell her to her face.

     “I don’t know if you’d ever want anything to do with frat guys,” he chuckled. “You punching that guy’s probably getting widespread over social media and they’ll know to stay away from you.” He nudged her playfully, then looked straight ahead again. “Probably for the better though, am I right?” 

      They sat and ate for a few minutes until Joey scooped out the last few bites of his frozen yogurt. He set the cup down and burped, rubbing his tummy. “Man, you know... I totally forgot I had a plan B if anything ever got fucked up at the bar,” he said, glancing over at her. There was a mischievous glint in his eye. “But we should get home first.”

[ohdarling]

Blue Monday | Alice & Jack

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

His remark backfired. Usually folks used that as a sign to leave, which was terrible for the business but great for Jack. He preferred to be alone, mostly so no one could particularly judge him for stealing liquor and drinking on the job. Jack wasn’t technically an alcoholic - his Irish blood made his tolerance higher than the average folk. But just because he didn’t depend on the substance, didn’t mean he didn’t abuse it.

It was just far easier dealing with people whenever it was in his system.

She wandered over to the bar and he suppressed the sigh that wanted to spill from his lips. He tossed the rag over his shoulder and pushed himself off the bar to get her order. After years of working in that dingy bar, he began to realize how intuitive he became. He made the woman her drink and slid it over with a napkin.

“First one’s on the house,” he told her.

It was a rare generosity, but he knew that look all too well.

He began making himself a drink not really caring what she might have thought of it.

“So… date got cancelled or stood up?”  

     Maybe it’s because he was a bartender or maybe it was written all over her face, but she still couldn’t help but be shocked he had read her like an open book. Her father had the same trait, too, from owning his bar. She called it now: all moody, broody bartenders saw a whole bunch of the same people every night and could read shame and pathetic-ness all over their faces. 

      Nevertheless, Alice refused to give herself up like that. “Got cancelled,” she said, chuckling. It was a bit of a nervous laugh, but you could chalk it up to her just being gawky. “Thanks for the free drink, by the way. If you ever come down to Scotland I’ll repay ya. My dad’s got a pub just like yours, always dreamed of owning one out in the states. -- You are the owner, yeah?”

        She was immediately curious about him. Sure, her white lie made her feel a bit guilty, but she was probably never going to see this guy again and soon, it wouldn’t matter. It was just that she hadn’t met anyone who was Irish in the city, or at least someone with the full accent and all. 

[youdadmire]

Tonight | Lulu & Luke

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

A sigh slipped from his lips as he stood there not knowing what to say. Luke was used to women having a certain distaste towards him, but that was usually once he was completely wasted. He was mostly sober and hadn’t done a damn thing wrong, yet she talked to him like she had a bad taste on her tongue.

He moved away from the windows and pulled his chair from the desk then took a seat. Narrowing his eyes at her, he watched as she kept to herself and began wrapping presents. There was only one person Luke bought a present for this year, and seeing the wrapping paper made him suddenly realize he had forgotten his Christmas plans he made ages ago. And to think he would have been on a plane heading out of the country if it wasn’t for the storm.

“Fuck,” he mumbled, quickly sliding his wireless keyboard over to start up the computer. Of course, his flight was delayed and he went ahead and cancelled it all together. Rory would have killed him if he didn’t show up for their Christmas Eve dinner plans.  Then again, she still might kill him depending on how long they were stuck in this god forsaken storm. Luke looked back over at Lulu and asked himself one thing: why her? Why out of all the people he was stuck with her?

He rolled over towards her and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“You don’t like me,” he finally stated. It wasn’t a question - just a fact.

     Silence. Lulu liked it for once. She sat cross-legged on the carpet, eating a banana she had smuggled from her purse, slouched over as she began to wrap the first gift. It was a mini Polaroid camera for her sister, who always talked about wanting an easier way to paste pictures into her journal so she didn’t have to print them off at the library all the time. Choosing some quirky Christmas octopus wrapping paper, she centered the box and wrapped around it, humming to herself. Halfway through wrapping, she heard a chair rolling over, its wheels loud against the carpet. 

       She looked up, admittedly glaring a little bit as she kept her head tilted towards her gift while wrapping it. When Luke finally spoke, she scoffed. 

      “What gives you that idea?” 

      Lulu didn’t know what to think of Luke, truthfully. When they first met, she had this weird idea that he would be some kind of prince charming and they’d have a rom-com night together, but that idea quickly dissipated and could probably blame on her working too much overtime. Then there was a sudden change in his temperament that made her feel like a chore, so ever since then, she’d been going back and forth with him. It was confusing to say the least.

[youdadmire]

See-through | Beck & Luna

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

In her mind, Beckett Boyer was this idea of perfection captured by his peers. He was intelligent, good looking, and the all-american football star of the school. He was idolized, whether he knew that or not. Luna didn’t know much about him other than the parts he played. It was both interesting and admirable to see he struggled with photography. Maybe he wasn’t so perfect after all - which made Luna enjoy his company even more.

Whenever their teacher displayed her work for the class to see, she never once thought anyone was actually paying attention. Photography was one of the few arts she found she could express herself in, something she surely thought no one even cared about. But Beck seemed to notice, and it was silly, but that made her feel so appreciated.

“Yeah, come on,” she told him, nodding forward to go deeper into the woods.

Walking along the little trail, she held out her hand so her fingertips could brush against the bark as the wind blew through the remaining leaves in the trees. Some of the leaves fell with every gust of the wind, raining down from above and falling at their feet. It was a beautiful autumn scape. She took the camera around her neck and looked back at Beck.

“Stop right there,” she told him quietly, then raised her camera to her eye.

She positioned her camera where half of the tree was in one side of the frame, and Beck was in the other- half of his body being covered by the bark. Once she snapped the photo, she looked at the result and smiled. She brought it over to him.

“Every photo tells a story, whether you mean for it to or not,” she explained then showed the image. “Someone might see this and think… You’re apart of nature. In tune with everything around you. Someone else might see it and think that this shows that you’re only half there, showing the world one side of you while the other hides away. It’s subjective.” Taking a deep breath, she did her best not to ramble any further. “So, I guess what Mrs. Whittaker is saying to you…. Anyone can take a landscape photo, but what does it mean to you? If you’re going to take photos of trees, take it with a purpose.”  

     Beckett followed behind Luna as they head down the narrow trail. It was mid-Autumn and most trees were changed in color; red, orange, yellow. Only a few of them had shed their leaves, but the wind was encouraging them to fall close to his feet as they walked. He crunched over them until Luna told him to stop, and he did stop, right where she told him to, halfway passing a large tree covered in moss. He chuckled, though kept still when Luna lifted her camera. 

      He looked over her shoulder once they began to observe the photo. It was more beautiful than any shot he had ever taken and it took her a second to think of the idea. Beckett couldn’t think of something so artistic if he had been given a week. “See, I personally see some dumb hick standing behind a tree... but I guess that’s why we’re so different, huh?” he said, nudging her a bit. 

       They continued along the trail, though Beckett strayed a few steps behind in search of photographable moments. They reached a small, man-made pond in a clearing in the woods, and he took in a deep breath. There was nothing like crisp fall air. He looked up and saw Luna standing in front of the water with her back facing him. He paused for a moment and smiled. 

       “Hey Luna?” 

        And once he got her attention, he snapped a photo of her looking over her shoulder at him. In the lens, he could swear he was looking at an angel, complete with the halo. He lowered the camera and grinned. “Gotcha.”

[youdadmire]

Penthouse Dreaming | C & J

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

Chey did a lot of stupid things in her life. Although in the moment it didn’t feel stupid, she couldn’t help but to slowly feel like maybe it was a mistake punching the man. Pain radiated from her knuckles and down her wrist, pain she’d surely feel a long stronger come tomorrow. The adrenaline of the moment was wearing off and she came back down to earth.

When Joey returned with a bag of frozen cookie dough, she couldn’t help but laugh. It was right then she remembered just why she moved in with this insane boy. He knew how to take care of the mess that was Amanda Chey Johnson. She hissed softly when the bag made contact, but the cold brought relief. A warm smile touched her lips at his words. Half the time she rolled her eyes and told him not to call her baby, and the other half she liked it more than she wanted to.

“Yeah… Much better. Thank you,” she told him and looked up at him through her eyelashes. After a moment of letting him take care of her, she reached for the bag to hold it herself. She cleared her throat and took a step back, examining the frozen yogurt options. “I could use some froyo, though.”

     Joey let go of the bag once Chey got a handle of it, giving her a soft smile. Man, every now and then he broke out of character and treated her like his girlfriend. They had that back and forth sometimes, and it surely wasn’t healthy, but they kept each other distant enough before it became dangerous. So he cleared his throat and took a step back, not noticing until a second later that he had just totally mirrored her. He chuckled, turning to the frozen yogurt machines. “Yeah, yeah. Here.”

        He grabbed a Hello Kitty themed cup for her and then some random Transformers one for himself, dispensing some triple chocolate yogurt for himself. “Get whatever you like. I gave the girl my credit card so she started a tab for me,” he said, chuckling. “It’s almost like being at the bar, if you think about it. We could just get totally wasted on froyo or something.” Man, this was awkward. How could he unawkward-fy this? 

       Choosing to just move along, Joey finished putting his toppings on and nodded to the frozen yogurt girl, who punched random buttons in her computer. He took a seat by one of the stools facing the big glass window at the front of the store, and patted the seat beside him. “Here ya go, Rocky.”

[youdadmire]

Alice’s outfit the night she got stood up on her very first date since coming to America.

[ohdarling]

Blue Monday | Alice & Jack

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

The man stared blankly at the sobbing man in front of him, drunk off of whiskey and his own pain. Jack never particularly enjoyed that the title of bartender somehow came associated with also being a therapist. Actually, he really hated it. That’s usually when the other staff would swoop in and offer advice on Jack’s behalf. Unfortunately for the man, they were understaffed for the night. It was just him and this man who loved telling him grueling details about his sex life.

“I’m going to need you to just… stop,” he replied, remembering his coworker telling him that he wasn’t allowed to just say: you’re embarrassing yourself. Jack was tempted to retrieve the man’s glass and drink that whiskey himself. Anything to drown him out. “Go home. Call a cab and promise me you’ll get a real therapist, because no one else should sit through that.”

The drunken man grumbled and slid out of his chair before leaving the bar. Jack let out a sigh of relief. As happy as he was that the bar was practically empty, he noticed a woman sitting at a table fumbling with a napkin. She had been there for some time and Jack read the situation easily. He was used to seeing these kind of things. He sighed and called out behind the bar, “Hey, Red.”

Once she looked his way, he leaned on his palms and nodded towards her. “You gotta order something. You’ve been here for a while now.”

     Alice, you’re an extremely beautiful woman in her early thirties in the middle of the most amazing city in America. You can’t keep being single-- it’s just not living!

     Why on earth did Alice ever think it was a good idea to agree to Joyce’s plan? Joyce was her coworker-- a cubicle buddy she had at the greeting card company she had been working for for the past couple of years now. And in those two years, Joyce-- who was younger and zestier at age twenty-four-- always pushed her to do things out of the ordinary. But trying spicy Korean BBQ, Joyce concluded, was not enough to consider Alice ‘living the dream life’ in New York. Of course, she had to go on a date. 

     Thinking back to it now, the thought made Alice shiver. Why did she agree to this? A blind date, out of all the things, with some freelance European car dealer that Joyce found online. How could you even be a freelance car dealer? The more Alice calculated all the factors that brought her here, stood up in some dive bar in the middle of the city on a night where her favorite show was releasing a new episode, it made sense. It was all dumb. She shouldn’t have gone. 

      She sighed, dropping the napkin she had been playing with inside her booth and pushing her face in her hands. The bar was empty now, and she felt embarrassed having waited here for Pierce for so long. She should have known that a half-hour of a no show meant that he was definitely not gonna show. But enough about what she should have done, it was going to be about what she would do, now, and she amped herself up to stand and grab her purse and go to another bar where her cute dress and red lipstick would be appreciated. 

      Instead of that happening, the bartender called out to her, and she looked up at him a bit startled. “Oh, y’see, I was just about to go, but, err--” she suddenly got hit with some guilt that she’d been taking up some real estate without getting a drink. She walked over to the bar and cleared her throat, sitting down. “I guess I’ll have, a, uh, scotch on the rocks please.” 

[youdadmire]

See-through | Beck & Luna

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

The looks some passing folks gave them in the hallway was exactly the way Luna felt. She was just as confused as they were on why this boy was giving her the time of day. They weren’t exactly strangers, then again no one really was in this town. It still felt out of place to be wandering off with him, but she chose to no longer analyze it. Not everything could be solved by that mind of hers.

Tall trees towered over the school and they somehow always felt like a second home to her. Luna spent entirely too much time in these woods. She hadn’t even noticed Beck stopped to take a photo until the sound of his jogging caused her to look back. She peered over at the screen and examined his photos with a smile. They were good, despite what he might’ve thought.

“Well, first of all… There’s nothing wrong with pictures like this,” she told him, “You know, there was a famous photographer named Ansel Adams. He rose to fame by just taking photos like this. Beautiful landscapes.” She looked up at him and rubbed her lips together nervously - she was rambling. She shook her head and continued, “But I think Mrs. Whittaker means… there’s so many things inside this one photo that can be its own photo. Why not get closer? Take pictures of the leaves, the texture of the bark on the trees. Get personal and close with it, instead of just being on the outside taking photos.”

     Luna knew so much more than what Beckett thought. It was no mystery, at least to him, that she was incredibly smart. They even shared some advanced classes together (that, of course, he struggled in despite his overall intelligence being higher than most would think) that proved it, but there was nothing like hearing it or seeing it up close. He smiled warmly at her, listening to her, and what she probably thought was rambling was what he thought was so interesting about her. There was even a hint of disappointment whenever she stopped talking about Ansel Adams and onto about what Mrs. Whittaker thought, which he didn’t think mattered that much. 

     “Well... yeah, maybe you’re right,” he said, shrugging. He looked at the photo for a moment with her, tilting his head down so he wouldn’t seem so tall in comparison. While looking at the photo, Beckett couldn’t really see any close-ups. It was just the way his mind worked in broad spectrums, never really getting close enough to see the details. But Luna seemed as if she knew all about that, and he couldn’t help being curious to see the world through her lens. 

      “Do you think you could, you know... show me how to get close and personal with stuff?” he asked, looking up a bit at her. “I mean like... show me how you’d do it. Like what’s a picture you’d get, or somethin’. I dunno... I’m no good at any of this stuff like you are.”

[youdadmire]

Tonight | Lulu & Luke

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

Luke had countless of friends. Most days, he felt surrounded by people who adored him, but he never once felt surrounded by people who loved him. Truth was, in moments like this, he came to the bitter realization that none of them were really his friends. Even if there was someone left in this city, they would never care enough to save him from this situation. The man only had two friends, both whom he treated like shit most days. He was on his own, and he knew that before he even attempted to look for someone to get him out of here.

“I changed my mind. I’m staying,” he lied. It was easier to just lie. “But how is it creepy to go to my office? You just agreed moments before to get in a car with me. How is my office the creepy one?”

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t going to win this girl’s heart over. What a shame - office sex would have been nice in this cold. Stealing one of the blankets, he led the way to the elevator. He punched in floor 25 along with the four digit after-hours code. When the doors opened up to his office, he stepped forward and put his hand on the elevator’s door so it wouldn’t close.

“Go ahead. Make yourself comfortable… The couch is over there by the window.”

The office was nice, large which was always surprising. He often shared it with his best friend, so rent wasn’t half bad. The room was surrounded by large windows overlooking the city, but right now, they jut appeared a ghostly white. He stepped forward and tried his best to see through the snow.

“God, there’s no visibility. Guess they weren’t kidding about this storm.”

     Without any more argument, Lulu followed behind Luke to the elevator, holding her bags while clutching a giant blanket between her arms. She struggled a bit, but of course, Luke didn’t help, and she couldn’t help but laugh on the inside-- of course this guy wasn’t always the type to notice his surroundings. It took a scream for him to notice she was on the other side of the parking garage.

       Once they head into his office, she remembered that she hadn’t seen much of the building that Olive was attached to. She only saw the restaurant and the lobby for the most parts. The kitchen, the tables, the bathrooms she sometimes got stuck having to clean up after. The lobby was beautiful, with high ceilings and a big golden chandelier, but she had no idea about the rest of the building. It seemed as if Luke’s place was a bit more modest, however, and almost like he shared it with someone. 

        “Thanks,” Lulu muttered, not wanting to ask him about anything. She felt like taking a break from the hot and cold for a moment. She head to the corner of the room where the couch was, near the windows, but on the other side of the room from Luke. At his comment, she looked out the windows. Pure white. “Yeah, it’s almost like they’re meteorologists or something and they get paid to know that stuff,” she said sarcastically. 

      With a sigh, she pulled herself out of the couch and onto the floor, letting the blanket spill behind her. She reached for her gifts and some wrapping paper, dumping them all out on the floor and beginning to plan what she would wrap.

[youdadmire]

Penthouse Dreaming | C & J

[youdadmire]

saintsea‌:

There was a time in her life where she felt everything so intensely, so much so that she spent years choosing to feel nothing at all instead. Years of repression, years of perfecting the fake laugh and smile piled on her now that she chose to leave that awful mindset behind. Unfortunately, those years of feeling nothing took a toll on her causing her to be irritable at the drop of a hat. Anger was no stranger to her in these past three years. It felt good to be angry, to feel something again.

But, even then, maybe she went a bit overboard.

“Call me a bitch again!” she yelled at the bouncer as Joey carried her away from the scene.

Her body thrashed in his arms, but he kept his grip on her.

“Fucking asshole!”

Despite her protests, Joey didn’t put her out of his arms until they were in a different setting. It was probably the best idea, knowing she’d most likely run back into that bar. She didn’t stray away from a good fight, especially when it was a man needing to be reminded just where his place was. The anger began to dissipate now under the lights of a frozen yogurt shop. The air smelled like sugar and the one employee was looking over at them confused. Chey began to laugh.

“He called me a bitch, dude! He was begging for that.” Suddenly her laugh halted as she noticed the throbbing pain in her hand, she held it up and hissed under her breath. “Son of a bitch… His face hurt my hand.”  

     “Yeah, I wouldn’t wanna be that guy right now.” 

        Joey furrowed his brows in concern as Chey looked at her knuckles, noticing they were starting to swell up from the impact. “Well... here, just wait a second,” he said, then walked over to the frozen yogurt employee. She was somewhere around sixteen, definitely much younger than him, and he could tell from the way she doodled on the back of her pink calculator with a sharpie instead of doing some algebra homework. He cleared his throat to get her attention from drawing hearts around some guy’s name.

       “Hey, so, how much is it for like, a bag of cookie dough bites?” 

       “Uh... what?” 

       “A bag. Of cookie dough bites,” he said. “How much?” 

       “I don’t really think we can give away--”

       “Look, kid, I don’t wanna have to give you the whole story, but you’ll understand when you’re older that I need a bag of cookie dough bites,” he said. There was a pause before he took out his wallet, handing her a twenty. “C’mon, I’ll give you a twenty-- right here, right now, just you-- and pay for whatever frozen yogurt we’re gonna get.”

        With a sigh, the young girl gave in and left for a moment. She returned with a bag of cookie dough bites, hard as a rock. Joey exchanged it for a twenty and smiled. “Thanks. And we’re gonna get some froyo, so start a tab for me.” 

        He head back to Chey and reached for her hand, pressing the bag of cookie dough against her knuckles. “There, how’s that, baby? Feel better?” he asked, almost in a cooing voice, not necessarily to poke fun at her or baby her, but just to comfort.