#literally nobody fucking knows irie the way i do.

[pinkprettycure]

it also made me think that since im clearly gods favorite i should be allowed more blessings and i should get an itakiss dub. but then i decided that i actually dont think anyone should even bother if Irie Naoki is voiced by literally anyone other than Phil Ava. im the sole target audience of that anime so i think that everyone should appeal to my demands specifically in this regard

#Are you telling me Char broiled this burger? #literally nobody fucking knows irie the way i do. #not a singular soul. nobody understands this anime the way I do I promise you that

[r4mmsarah]

Dear Richard..

I have no fucking idea if you’ll ever read this but yk, you never know.

First of all:

THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. I wish I could tell you, in how many ways you literally saved my life. You are my BIG inspiration in life, in playing guitar and many other things. Everyone needs a person to be their “idol” or a person who we are inspired by, and I’m glad and proud I can tell in my life that the person is YOU. Because damn. Unfortunately I can’t feel what have you been through but, been trough something familiar (long story) and EVERTIME. I felt like I want to give up, I look after you and realized how far you’ve come and that motives me. When I feel like in no point of my life, I look at you, listen Emigrate, Rammstein and just think, it can be always worse but what’s matter, the important one: it will be always better. I just remember the lyrics from the song “Babe” (my favorite song btw) - “Whatever you do, we will laugh again I'm like you, a fool again. Whenever I fell, I got up again. Find your way and lose again.Wherever you are you can choose again.Your heart will break, and heal again.And one day will come when you believe again” And that motives me even more. I’m so glad for your amazing work, because I can relate and it just feels different, differently amazing. I don’t think you’ll ever understand how much I look after you and how much i appreciate you and your work. Because it really motivates me when I see you standing on the stage, preforming infront of THOUSANDS people after you worked up your ass here. And I wish it to you so much because you deserve it<3

Your smile is like a light in a dark tunnel for me, it’s full of energy and love. Your preforming on stage is amazing. It’s the energy I get from you and we give it back and I absolutely love that. You are really the reason why I started playing on electric guitar. And I feel like I should thank you for that,because I found another safe place, where I can be safe, in my own world, just me and my guitar.

Also I found really AMAZING friends from your fandom (and Rammstein of course) which I believe that Rammstein fandom is full of amazing and talented people.

Anyways, after all.. It’s you and your amazing work and your songs when I come home after a bad day and just listen the music that motives me so much. It’s your music that is standing by my side when nobody else does. I’m really proud of you.

I’m really glad that I’ve heard from you since my childhood. Glad to be in this fandom (actually really proud) , thank you for everything because you are the first thing in this world that motives me.

With all love

~S

📌credit for the pictures to the right owner!

#rammstein #richard kruspe #reesh #richard z. kruspe #cute #emigrate #rzk #hot celebs #ilysm #awwwww #i love his smile #smile #idol #Spotify

[messymindofmine]

For a while now I’ve been trying to get my thoughts on the first four episodes of this season sorted out. I did actually enjoy the arc as a whole. I enjoyed getting to learn more about Carlos’s backstory and I actually enjoyed getting to know Iris better. I think so many of us assumed that Carlos had such a lonely childhood and so it’s nice to know that he had at least one person in his life that he was close to and be himself around.

I think for me the reason why I felt so stressed about it all was actually more down to the fandom reaction to the storyline. I’m not trying to blame anyone here or insult the fandom at all. I actually understand why a lot of people reacted the way they did. But there were things that stressed me out. I didn’t like how so many people just seemed so resistant to the concept of Carlos even having flaws. Carlos has always had flaws, it’s just that for some reason some people always ignored them in favor of lashing out at TK. And I think that right there is why a lot of people who care about TK felt frustrated. Since s1, TK’s worthiness has constantly been questioned and every mistake he has made has been held against him. In s3, ppl kept saying that Carlos should never have taken TK back at all and made him work for it. Mind you, these people completely overlooked the fact that Carlos had bought a house without even discussing it with TK. The thing is, the narrative and Carlos himself seemed to ignore that too. Even Rafa boiled the breakup down to “TK fucking up.” But with this, it feels like the writers didn’t even want to acknowledge that Carlos had even made a mistake. There is never a moment where it’s pointed out to Carlos that he was married for the entirety of his relationship to TK and didn’t tell him. Instead, it’s brushed of bc it wasn’t a real marriage. I think this frustrated a lot of people bc it felt like even when Carlos is unequivocally the one who made a mistake, it’s going ignored. I actually did defend Carlos as much as I possibly could during that arc bc I do understand why he married Iris in the first place and it does fit his character that he didn’t tell TK. I just wish that had been pointed out as wrong the way TK breaking up with Carlos instead of talking to him about the house was. Carlos got to vent his feelings back then yet TK never said a word about how he felt about Carlos keeping that secret and then he constantly blamed himself for Iris going missing and nobody stepped in to tell him it wasn’t his fault.

On the other hand, I didn’t like how people who were understanding of both sides were treated either. I know for a fact that there were people writing entire coda fics that validated TK’s feelings and yet they were being sent messages accusing them of not liking TK. I most certainly did not like how the writers and especially the actors were being left nasty comments to the point where an Instagram post had to be taken down. As much as I loved Ronen, Rafa and Lysney showing each other solidarity, it should never have come to that in the first place. I don’t know what type of comments they were or who they were coming from. I do know that there were people who were just mad that a woman had been brought into the dynamic at all. I know that there were people who just couldn’t stand the idea of Carlos having flaws. I know there were people who, after the first ep, were sending anyone who vented their feelings on their own blog lists of every mistake (both real and imagined) mistake that TK has ever made. I know there were people who went out of their way to blame TK anyway and people who tried to pin the blame on Iris even though she was literally in a state of psychosis for years and was living on the streets. At any rate, whoever it was that left comments on Rafa’s post or sent hate to any of the actors should be ashamed.

Ronen himself touched on this in a post ep 4 interview but it really does seem that ppl forget that TK deals with mental health issues as well and none of this situation was at all easy on him. There’s a reason why Iris likened herself to TK. From the vibe I got, the ppl that were actually hating on Iris for the stuff she said during the dinner didn’t even seem that concerned about TK himself. They just wanted an excuse to hate on Iris. I’ve said before that there is ableism in this fandom that has come into play with how TK is talked about and it definitely feels like it came into play with how Iris was talked about. I know it frustrated a lot of ppl seeing TK’s struggles in this arc being ignored by everyone and even Carlos seemingly blaming him for Iris going missing. Now, I do understand why Carlos reacted the way he did. He was deeply worried, probably blaming himself since this is something he and TK have in common and Iris’s life was in danger. And Carlos has always had a tendency to compartmentalize to the point that it becomes toxic. So I do understand his reaction but I can’t say that I didn’t find it upsetting. I also feel like it led a lot of ppl to be louder about how bad they felt for TK bc they felt that nobody else was going to do it. There were also ppl outright blaming TK and the fact that Ronen made it a point to defend why TK went to Iris shows that the actors do in fact see the stuff fans say. I just hope that after this ppl can recognize that it is possible to understand and sympathize with two characters at the same time and to do so doesn’t mean that you dislike one or the other. I actually do understand (even if I don't necessarily agree with it) the hypersensitivity that some ppl had over TK during this arc bc there’s no denying that there are ppl out there that look for excuses to hate on TK and downplay his feelings. Apparently enough for Ronen to notice. In my experience, ppl who love TK generally love Carlos as well but the same can not always be said the other way around. However, as I already said, this is no reason to go after the ppl who do love both and are just trying to be understanding of both sides. At the end of the day, as far as I can see the majority does love both and that should be what matters. I think there is also the matter of how the anger ppl felt at Carlos was ultimately temporary. Ppl were angry after 401 but they calmed down after 402 when we saw Tarlos being a united team and expressing love for each other. And of course there was the exquisite couch scene. The anger started up again with ep 2 and Carlos’s behavior. The anger at Carlos always felt like a knee-jerk response that I didn’t like but at least it was temporary in the end. For TK on the other hand, ppl have been looking for excuses to hate on him since s1. Going as far as him bringing Lou the lizard home as proof of how he’s not good enough for Carlos.

All of this is something that has really been bothering me especially since there’s people who seem mad that Carlos wasn’t in ep 5 and I truly don’t understand why. I understand wanting more screen time, I always want both guys to have more screen time but I enjoyed the focus on Marjan and I want more for her. Plus we had 4 episodes straight focusing on Carlos where we learned so much about him and a lot of fans even got there wish about seeing him be the one in danger and TK rescue him. That’s actually another thing btw, while I liked ep 4 itself, I didn’t like how ppl were rejoicing at Carlos being hurt bc it would make “TK be the one to worry and show his love in a more obvious way.” Anyway, I don’t understand why some ppl were so mad at Carlos not getting screen time in this ep. I also understand wanting to see acknowledgment of what happened but I feel like it’s ok bc there’s so many brilliant coda fics for that. We didn’t really get any aftermath in the Push arc either but I don’t remember ppl complaining about that. TK was barely in any of the episodes after Push until the end of 307 and he was barely in this ep either. There are about 10 regulars on the show and this is the first time Marjan has had a big storyline so why is it such a bad thing that the focus was temporarily moved a bit? I genuinely don’t understand.  

Anyway, as I said before, I’m not trying to blame anyone or start anything. I just truly needed to get this off my chest so that I can sleep at night. As I said, I did enjoy the storyline overall. More than anything else, I’m just happy to move on from the angst and into the happy wedding-planning era. Personally, I don’t want anymore relationship-related drama. I know Rafa said that what happened in 404 would impact how Carlos dealt with things later on and I hope that means we see growth. I hope that means Carlos realizing that he has things he needs to work on the way TK did after Push. That’s all I want next for Tarlos and for Carlos

#911 on fox #911 lone star #911 lone star s4 #tk strand #carlos reyes #tarlos #iris blake #ronen rubinstein #rafael silva

[based-bobcat]

The Flash

Yup, I got dragged to see this movie. It’s the best comedy of 1994!

-The opening scene was fine, but it set up the rollercoaster of tonal shifts we were about to jump on. I admit I laughed during the baby shower scene. Barry not being able to touch the people he saves seems like a new handwavy addition so they wouldn’t just speed to, say, Russia.

-Affleck in the Batsuit looks like Dark Knight Returns Batman, especially his face. It didn’t look good at all. Another laugh when WW showed up with that epic musical sting out of nowhere.

-There is no fucking way that Iris West would ever interact with Barry after him schizoing in front of her every single second. 

-The time travel itself was pretty cool, until they used CGI akin to Jimmy Neutron to show the ‘waves of time’ or whatever. Also it looked so much like the cosmic treadmill, you might as well have used it. Made totally not stolen from Flash season 3 stand out even more when he pushed Barry off the not!Treadmill.

-Whoever decided to have Ezra Miller play a dual role should be fired, shot and set on fire in that order. Barry Allen is the most annoying character to ‘grace’ the screen since Jar Jar, and no, film,  outright saying Barry is annoying doesn’t help. It just makes it worse.

-Barry and Barry have a scene in which Barry comes to the shocking conclusion that nobody of the League is around to stop Zod... Even though during MoS nobody was active during that time aside from Batman. They retcon Barry into the same trailer scene Bruce was in, which felt like I was finally watching a comic book. Pointless retcons!  That shows that Barry tried to save a kid and a dad, but failed to save the dad. A nice waste of time because you do see them later, they literally suffer the same fate. Even worse, Barry wasn’t even there this time!

-The usual ‘this is how OUR time travel works’ scene was generic, but spaghetti metaphor was at least an interesting take. Also autism be damned, Bruce can cook a good pasta

-While I usually like Michael Keaton, it seemed like he was phoning it in. He said ‘I’m Batman’ like an old person welcoming you to Target. He looks so bored

-In a later scene he says “You wanna get nuts? Let’s go nuts” in the same bored tone, shot the exact same way and the movie gives a pause for fucking applause. Beyond embarrassing. They also had Batman shield others from bullets with his cape like 5 times minimum and every time he made this face.

-Now the 4 people who follow me and read this will say ‘of course you’d say that’, but Supergirl is the only good part in this fucking shitshow. Rushed as hell, yes, but good. She took off because mankind imprisoned her so mankind bad, and immediately went back because Barry saved her in the span of a literal minute. Could’ve been explored better though. One of the Barry acts like a 4 year old could’ve been cut for Kara coming to terms with the fact that Kal-El isnt out there. Or just adjusting to freedom. Instead she immediately fights Zod, because the movie needs to (They do give her a reason, but only after she agreed to help to stop Zod)

-The reason being, yet another fucking retcon, on this Spaghetti strand Kara is the one with the Birthing Matrix, and Zod killed infant Clark to discover this. I genuinely dont get this change. It’d be more interesting if Clark died on arrival and the matrix was destroyed. So Zod is just Terraforming the Earth as a fuck you to Jor-El. 

-Just now realising that Zod came to Earth because Clark/Lois activated a signal, but without Clark how the fuck did he know where Kara even was?

-Final fight scene had tonal whiplash every five fucking seconds, I kind of tuned out until Kara and Bruce died. Barry and Spaghetti-Barry go back in time, it doesn’t work. OG!Barry finally learns the lesson that CW Flash never fucking learned about time travel, but Spaghetti!Barry keeps going until we get a literal crisis on infinite Earths type shit with Earths clashing into each other. To nobody’s surprise, Spaghetti!Barry is not!Savitar. Well to everyone’s surprise probably since I forgot he existed. They have the gall to say Spaghetti!Barry created himself, using OG!Barry as a way to do so.

-This is after an embarrassing amount of ‘REMEMBER THIS’ zooming in on those other Earths, with DC using the corpse of Christopher Reeves as nostalgia bait. Classy. 

-At least Nic Cage got to play Superman, good on him. Sad he still had to fight that giant spider. Telling that they CGI’d Reeve in, but Adam West only gets an audio clip

-A delicious middle finger to CW because the only reference to that we saw was Zoom-as-Jay-Garrick also known as the moment CW Flash went to shit.

-Anyway the movie ends with a woman hugging a bloody, dirty, crying man who is clearly wearing stolen clothes, then crying homeless man proceeds to steal her can of tomatoes. This is played with sad music and slo-mo. I genuinely haven’t laughed that hard in the theater in years.

-The movie ends with George Clooney as Batman, instead of giving me more Sasha Supergirl. Which they should’ve done. With Henry no longer playing Clark, why not give us Supergirl.

Numbers for movies dont mean shit, but this movie is a 3/10 and that generous. I laughed along with the movie the same amount of times I laughed at it, so that is a win? The people I went with could not name a single thing that they liked. Not a single fucking thing. Reportedly Aquaman is going to be worse. I cant wait.

Lets hope James Gunn turns this around. Not holding my breath

#The Flash #Ezra Miller #Michael Keaton #Sasha Calle #DCEU #Hiding behind my english isnt my first language excuse

[ik-sue]

Okay, seems like edqey, aka Jupi, aka Malt, aka Evol, aka 120 gb, aka whatever new name they don has decided to cozy up with Ash (Glitchedpuppet aka glip aka purplekelceon aka papaya kitty) so now I gotta respond.

First off, yes, my personal discord server has been used to discuss Floraverse. There is an entire channel dedicated to it, called “Because it hurt.” It’s a private channel only for select people, and it’s clear Jupi shouldn’t have ever had access to it.

Various issues have been covered on other blogs, so I won’t be reiterating what has already been said. Instead I’ll cover my side of various issues.

First: the dreaded R word. Yes, it was allowed in the server early on, I personally have reclaimed it like the F and Q slurs. I was called it constantly as a kid for being special needs due to autism and I will gladly use it with reference to myself. Now I did ban it in my server, it’s the 100th rule.

It wasn’t thrown around like candy, it was used maybe 25 or so times over several months (September through to March). Now users get warned automatically if they use it.

Next off, the alleged racism. I am going to make it explicitly clear, there was and has never been any racism in my server.

The fifth rule in the server literally bans it. One user, Ceddy, was found out to be racist outside the server on his Twitter. Jupi apparently dug through his account and found and listed off to me every instance they could find. He was banned afterwards, as even outside of the server behavior on this is worth a ban imo. Again, nobody was ever racist inside my server, as they would immediately be banned upon me or the mods noticing their messages, and the friends Ive made aren’t that type of people. The same goes for transphobia. In fact, almost every member of my sever save for three or four are trans in some way. The alleged transphobia was someone saying they aren’t comfortable with it/its/itself pronouns but will respect those who use said pronouns and call them their proper pronouns. Why were they uncomfortable with those pronouns? Because they feel like those pronouns are objectifying and dehumanizing, but again, they will respect those who wish to be referred to that way and has continuously used the proper pronouns. Not exactly my definition of transphobic.

Now on to me wanting “revenge.” No, I wanted closure and Ash to take accountability. In fact, Ive never said I wanted “revenge” at all. Ever. I genuinely don’t know where that came from.

The DID situation. A user named Pruffle suggested we go into the floraverse servers under one account and each use the same account. I thought that was an absolutely stupid idea, and wanted to dismiss it and dissuade anyone from trying it, so I came up with the dumbest possible thing to explain how it would work. I said

This was meant to make the idea seem ridiculous. It wasn’t a serious “let’s pretend to have a serious mental illness.” Those who struggle with DID genuinely struggle and need to be shown love, support, compassion, and kindness… so long as they don’t use it as an excuse for their god awful behavior that they can genuinely control. *cough cough*.

Now that that’s all out of the way… Jupi, you’ve done some god awful shit today.

This?

And this?

NOT OKAY.

You do NOT speculate on someone else’s mental health like this. “Iris was off their meds” is an extremely ablest statement. Regardless of whether I need medication to function properly and politely or not, it is unacceptable for you to make this kind of statement. And the second screenshot… why? Why did you tell Ash, the person who groomed me into porn when I was a minor, about my mental health struggles?? Like… what the fuck is wrong with you? Have you no respect for others or did you feel that you can paint me as a bad or flawed person by saying this? I genuinely want to know.

[cornertheculprit]

17, 18, 22, 23!

17: there should be more of this type of fic/art

phoenix and maya being stupid idiot friends together that doesn't involve maya trying to wingman for wrightworth in some way. it's funny seeing it the first few times and then it's just kind of like. well. this is just her character getting reduced to "wrightworth fangirl" over and over. phoenix & maya have such a beautiful and hilarious and meaningful relationship that they build over the course of the trilogy and the fact that some people just ignore it entirely drives me bonkers.

18: it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

THE FACT THAT PHOENIX CANONICALLY HAS SOME SORT OF LATENT PSYCHIC ABILITY. i've made 500 posts about it so i won't fill up this ask with it but like. oh my god. why does nobody talk about it. it's so fucking cool how he and the fey family are so intertwined and he also just so happens to DO shit sometimes that ISN'T FUCKING NORMAL. ISN'T THAT COOL!!!!!!!

22: your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

i could name SO many things for this so instead of just going in-depth about one i'll name a few: phoenix & iris being able to understand each other even after five years even after knowing each other for such a short amount of time. trucy saying the rudest fucking things sometimes with a big smile on her face and taking everyone off-guard with it. maya literally sometimes getting psychic vibes from people and objects and turning out to be correct even though she never really says it in a serious tone (saying that dee vasquez was the killer in aa1, saying that the shichishito had an aura of great tragedy around it in aa3 before it was used to kill misty, etc). PHOENIX BEING PSYCHIC/HAVING SOME SORT OF SPIRITUAL POWERS IN SOME WAY SHAPE OR FORM. the fact that the reason pearl keeps wanting phoenix and maya to get together is because her home life was shit and she just happiness for maya and to see that maybe love isn't doomed after all. the fact that the reason DAHLIA did all the shit prior to 3-5 is because HER home life was shit and she was doing everything in her power (even if it was extreme) to keep from going back to it. the fact that phoenix's grief over edgeworth being gone in aa2 was fundamentally selfish in nature because he missed the ideal of edgeworth more than edgeworth himself. idk if these things are truly "ignored" but nobody ever talks about them. so.

23: ship you've unwillingly come around to

i don't think there is one!! usually ships for me (whenever i think about them which is. not that often) just stick in my brain and i just ponder the dynamics between the characters and such (like wrightworth, miego, krisnix, feenris, etc). if i don't like/don't care about a ship, i just don't think about it.

#asks

[legxllyblxndc]

london NYE || @foreverwednesday

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Take my arm Noah, for gods sake! You're supposed to act like a gentleman at these things." Nancy rolled her eyes, although she was beaming beneath her mask. She was so excited to be at a party like this one; Willow and Jeremiah's parties were infamous and this was her first year being invited. She thought they were probably a little cautious of the Hayes and with the men in their family, they were right to be - but Nancy was determined to fit right in and have the best night ever. As they descended the stairs and got into the ballroom, she gasped and looked around, attempting to take in every little bit of the glory around them. "This is incredible..." She whispered, shaking her head. It was probably one of the most beautiful rooms she'd ever been in. "I literally don't recognise anybody, though. Isn't it so weird how a tiny little mask changes somebody's appearance so much?" She laughed, eyebrows raising beneath her own mask as she tried to figure out the identities of the people around her. "Can you see Iris?" She asked him. Usually, she and Iris would've gotten there together, but Ava had wanted to be the one to bring them - and get numerous pictures of them before she did and so they'd agreed to meet there, with Arlo.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Oh shit... Shit, is it noticeable?" Arlo muttered, looking down at the tiny spot on his tie - his mum had given him a snack to eat in the taxi on the way and of course, in true Arlo style, he'd managed to spill some of it on his tie. "They'll still let me in, right?" It wasn't lost on him just how big of a deal this party was and he definitely didn't want to be turned away because there was jam on his tie. "Thank you!" He chimed over to the taxi driver as he pulled up outside, peeking through the window at the huge building. "Woah, this is sick!" He laughed, climbing out and leaving the door open for Iris behind him. He couldn't wait to get in there. "Fucking hell... it's huge. Let's go in!" He held his arm out to her with a grin; it felt as though dressing up, playing people that weren't really them and Arlo thought it was the perfect way to bring in the new year. He couldn't imagine anything better, especially getting to do it with his best friends.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Thank you again for picking me up. The thought of walking in here on my own gave me the shakes." Mia laughed, shaking her head as she looked at Benjamin with a grateful smile. The party was beautiful, but it was huge and fancy and she absolutely hadn't wanted to get there on her own. She'd had to work until pretty late, nobody able to cover her shift and she hadn't wanted to risk making Ivy late too - when she'd found out that Benjamin was heading there on his own, she'd practically begged him to accompany her. Deep down, Mia would've definitely liked to get there with Noah, but he hadn't said anything about it and she didn't want to push. "This is wild though, right? I feel like I'm in Gossip Girl." She chuckled. "And I definitely need a drink. How do you feel about tequila? Just a little something to get the night started." She smirked, taking Benjamin by the arm and leading the way over to the bar. They'd already been assured it was an open bar - and everybody around them seemed to be drinking either champagne or cocktails, but she didn't think one little shot would go amiss. "Hi! Can we have two of the signature cocktails and two shots of tequila, please." She smiled, turning back to Benjamin. "I did not want to risk mispronouncing the name of that drink - we might've been exiled." She grinned.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Have I mentioned that you look absolutely stunning tonight?" Wren smiled charmingly as he looked down at Blake, raising an eyebrow slightly. She really did and he was definitely glad he'd asked her to be his date, he thought they were going to have a great tonight together. "You know, it's actually nice to see you without either of us rushing off to be somewhere. Or rushing in from somewhere else." He chuckled, shaking his head. Life was insanely busy for the both of them, but Wren absolutely appreciated having a couple of days off around Christmas to just enjoy himself - and this was definitely one of those times. "My mother is somewhere around her - her best friend is the hostess, so try not to let her catch you or she's going to ask you a thousand questions." He smiled. He loved his mum so much, but there was no denying she was protective and he knew she'd want to question Blake if she got a chance to. "My dad is here somewhere too, but he usually just keeps to himself."

WM CJ MS AG NH: Honestly, Cole was a little surprised that he'd even been given an invitation to attend the party tonight - he figured it had something to do with Iris, though. They'd had a pretty good time at her birthday party and they'd certainly got to know each other; he figured she at least knew the hosts, because it was only a few days after that his invitation arrived in the post. He hadn't quite realised how fancy it was going to be until he'd gotten there, so he was definitely happy he'd gone on the fancier side with his suit - it actually belonged to his friend, he didn't have anything quite this posh. He had been waiting outside for a few minutes, just waiting until he hopefully saw somebody he knew - when he saw Ivy walking by. "Hey! Hey, Ivy right?!" He called, speeding up slightly so he could catch her. "I'm Cole, we spoke at Iris's birthday party - you mind if I walk in with you? I definitely don't want to walk in here on my own." He laughed, shaking his head.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Fuck off Nancy. I'm not going to take your arm!" Noah snapped back. It had taken a little convincing from his mum and sister for him to even turn up to this thing. The masquerade was so far out of Noahs comfort zone but he had gotten sick of listening to everyone saying how amazing it was going to be - and he was never one to turn down an open bar. It hadn't even occurred to him that this was something he should've asked Mia to go to with him. He had thought that she would hate the idea of this as much as he was so even if the thought of bringing a date did cross his mind, - which if absolutely did not - he still would've thought he was doing her a favour by not asking her to go with him. "It's ridiculous." He huffed in response to his sisters compliment. It still shocked him, sometimes, when he realised just how different he and his sister were. "How the fuck am I meant to know which one she is?" He sighed, rolling his eyes.

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris couldn't help but laugh a little as Arlo fussed over his tie and she shook her head, "Absolutely no-one is going to notice it. I promise." She didn't know if that was completely true but she didn't think that a little white lie would hurt in this situation anyway. She thought that this whole thing was more about having fun than it was about the formality - for them, anyway. "Thanks." Iris called before she fell into step beside Arlo. She still couldn't believe that she knew people with this kind of wealth. It seemed totally insane to her - especially coming from her and her mothers tiny house. "It's going to be amazing." Iris laughed, linking her arm with Arlos. She was excited to get in there and to see everyone. Especially Cole. After her birthday party, she'd spoken to Wren about asking Willow to get him an invite and she was so glad that it had worked out. She was definitely interested in getting to know him a little better - especially after her birthday.

NH IK BA IS BA: "No problem. Always here for a damsel in distress." Benjamin laughed before he smiled at Mia. In truth, he didn't want to go to the party on his own. He had been in two minds about going or not, anyway. This was the party of the year. Everyone wanted an invitation but he was still feeling a little upset about his break up with Nancy and he didn't know if seeing her in some gorgeous dress and potentially being hit on by every guy there was something he wanted to see. He hadn't been able to say no to Mia, though. "It's absolutely insane." He nodded, "My whole flat could fit into this place a million times over." He laughed as he looked around. It was all so crazy to him but something that he was absolutely going to enjoy. "I think that I don't have a choice, right?" He smiled as she ordered them their drinks. "A shot would definitely take the edge off of this craziness, anyway."

NH IK BA IS BA: Blake shrugged at Wrens question, "Maybe once or twice. But you can say it as much as you like. I won't tire of it." She smiled up at him. She had always harboured a little crush for Wren. Anyone who said that they didn't, she thought, were crazy. He was kind and he was funny. He was drop dead gorgeous and insanely talented. She didn't think that there was something to not like about him. That was why she hadn't thought twice about saying yes when he'd asked her to be his date. "Yeah, it's nice. I couldn't think of a better person to spend a night off with." Her work was something that Blake absolutely adored. Agreeing to spend a night off with someone was a big deal - even if she had just been planning on going over audition material that night. "Oh, I see, you tell me this now when i'm already here as your date so I won't go running for the hills, right?" She laughed. She was mostly joking, though. Blake had heard a lot about Fleur but she absolutely thought that she could handle her. "Sounds like they make an interesting couple."

NH IK BA IS BA: While the party had definitely been something which Ivy had been looking forward too, there was a small part of her that was a little nervous for it too. Mostly because she was sure that her father would be there - and if he wasn't, people who knew him certainly was. The last thing she wanted was to see her father tonight. She was mostly stuck in her own head, trying to figure out what she would do if her dad was there - what she would say to him, how she would act - when she heard someone speaking. It took her a second to register her own name. She snapped out of her thoughts, though, turning her attention quickly to Cole. "Yeah, Ivy." She nodded in response to his question, an instant smile on her face. "Oh, yeah! Of course. No problem."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "It's just an arm Noah, you're being stupid." Nancy rolled her eyes. She absolutely wanted to fit in here tonight, but she was aware that her brother wanted the opposite. Nancy dreamed of a life like this, of being the person throwing these kinds of parties and she didn't want to do anything that made them stand out. "It is not ridiculous - it's a party! And it's New Years Eve, can you at least pretend to be happy for a few hours?" She laughed, although she really did wish he'd just loosen up and try to let himself have a good time. "I don't know, it's not like we grew up with her or anything. I just wanted to know if you'd spotted her." She shook her head, still looking around for her best friend. She saw Benjamin pretty much right away, even though she hadn't thought she was looking for him - it was as though she was just tuned into him whenever he was in the room. "Of course he's here." She sighed, shaking her head. She had no idea who he was standing next to, but the idea of him with somebody else made her feel a little bit sick - although she'd been feeling that way for a while now anyway.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I think you're lying to me, but I want to believe it so I'll just ignore that instinct." Arlo laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He loved that Iris was somebody that just didn't care about things like that; he was the same way. He didn't think it mattered if somebody had stains on their tie, or if their trousers were a little crumpled, whether somebody had lots of money or none at all. He didn't think he could be around somebody who did care about those things for too long - it was why he and Nancy butted heads occasionally. "So amazing." He grinned, starting up the steps. "Apparently they have a band, and a shit ton of food and and open bar! It's like, the perfect night!" He laughed, having to hold himself back from running in, so excited to finally get there. Iris looked absolutely beautiful tonight and Arlo so wanted to tell her... but he didn't want it to be weird. He didn't want it to come out wrong and make it sound as though he was after something, or he was messing up the dynamic of their friendship. No, it was easier just to say nothing at all. They reached the top of the stairs and Arlo let out a noise of pure excitement. "This is amazing!"

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Well, I don't know if I'm much of a damsel, but I was definitely distressed." Mia laughed, nodding her head. She was definitely a confident person, but a party like this was out of her comfort zone and she felt better walking in with a friend - especially somebody like Benjamin who was always so calm. "Oh yeah, ours too. I reckon the money it would cost to put a party like this on for the night could pay both of our rents for the next ten years." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She didn't even know if that was an exaggeration or not. "Oh, there's always a choice - you could say no and I'll just do both shots. But then you're going to have me drunk and annoying very, very soon." She grinned, shrugging her shoulders as she slid the shot of tequila over to him. "My thoughts exactly. Bottoms up, Abrams!" She laughed, clinking her glass against his and knocking it back with a little shudder. "First of many, I believe."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Nice to know. I guess I can keep it coming, then." Wren chuckled. He had never paid all that much attention to Blake before the two of them had properly gotten talking; his life was so busy and the circle of people around him so big that it could be hard for new people to penetrate sometimes, but he was glad that Blake had come into his life. They had a lot in common and she was definitely somebody he found interesting to be around. Wren knew that there were a lot of expectations in his life; his parents had fallen in love so young and there was definitely some pushing and shoving towards specific people - a certain Saracen in particular - but there was a big part of Wren that just wanted to enjoy being young and having fun. "Oh yeah, absolutely. I thought I'd get you here and then tell you the bad news." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. "They do. On paper, they shouldn't make any sense at all - but when you meet them, they're just... they're right together. You'll see." He smiled. His parents love story was absolutely one he admired and he loved hearing all of the stories from their youth.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Just because he was nervous, that didn't mean Cole wasn't looking forward to the party - he was looking forward to it massively, he was just cautious that he still didn't know that many of these people and he really wanted to make a good impression. He was especially excited to see Iris. He smiled as Ivy responded to him, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, did I interrupt some serious thinking there?" He chuckled. It definitely seemed as though he'd pulled her out of some kind of daze, anyway. "Thank you, you're a lifesaver." He laughed, joining her as they began to walk up the stairs. "I had no idea it would all be this fancy, are you guys usually at parties like this?" It was a far cry from the house party Iris and Nancy had thrown and whilst he could imagine the latter at something like this, he didn't know if he could imagine the rest of the guests milling about here.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I've already told you no." Noah huffed. Maybe he was being stubborn but that was what he was known for. He knew that he could be a pain in the arse, that he had lost a lot of people because he didn't make things easy on anyway but he didn't really care. Noah thought that he was destined to a life on his own for forever so what was the point in changing? It was going to happen, no matter what. "Why do you care what i'm doing? You're the one who is so desperate to be included. It's almost more pathetic than this whole thing." He huffed. The Hayes weren't poor. They had more than enough to get themselves by but he still hated such displays of wealth. He couldn't help but see it all as a waste. "Right. And you're her best friend. You've not seen her eyes." He shrugged. Noah was sure, though, that wherever Iris was, Arlo wouldn't be far behind. He raised an eyebrow at Nancys comment about Ben but didn't respond - his gaze was immediately taken by the girl with him. He was almost certain that it was Mia and she completely took his breath away. There was a part of him that wanted to immediately make a bee line for him. It took a lot of his inner strength to keep back.

NH IK BA IS BA: "If you want to believe it, then that's all that matters." Iris laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't see the point why something like that actually mattered. They were all there to have a good time, after all. If someone didn't look quite as perfect, she didn't see how it made the rest of it look anything less. Especially when Iris knew how amazing it was going to be. Willows parties had always been notorious growing up. And as she took in the sight before her, of the party and everything it entailed, she could absolutely see why. "Are you looking at all this?!" She giggled, loudly, unable to properly take everything in because of how incredible it all looked. She quickly pulled herself together, though. She glanced up at Arlo for a moment before she continued into the party. "Do you see Nancy?" She asked him, unable to really see past anyone nearby them.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Then I'm glad to be helping you out." Benjamin smiled. He knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this kind of thing was not somewhere that he belonged but it was somewhere that he was going to enjoy being. He thought that parties like this were a lot of fun. Getting to see how the other half lived was more than entertaining to him. His family were pretty well off - they always managed to have everything that they wanted - but it was nothing compared to the wealth of the Fontaines. This kind of wealth seemed completely unattainable to him. "See, I thought you were already pretty annoying as it was." Ben joked as he grabbed the shot that was laid in front of him. He cringed a little as he drank, though. "Why do you like that stuff?" He coughed, shaking his head.

NH IK BA IS BA: Blake nodded her head, "I guess you can." She smiled. She definitely wasn't looking for anything serious. With auditions coming up and, hopefully, starting drama school in the following September, she knew that she didn't have the capacity for something that was serious. But she definitely thought that she and Wren could have a lot of fun together. She thought that they understood one another well enough that they could do that. They were both busy people. They were both equally as ambitious. At this point in her life, her work was everything. She wanted to be on the stage more than she wanted absolutely anything else. And she liked that Wren seemed to understand that, too. "I think I can handle her." Blake laughed. "Besides, mothers love me. My exes mum still calls me from time to time." She was mostly joking - she had never really gotten to the stage of meeting someones mum - but she didn't want Wren to think that she was someone who could be scared of easily. "They've been together for forever, right? Since younger than me?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy quickly shook her head as Cole apologised. She didn't want him thinking that he had interrupted anything and she was glad that he had spoken to her, anyway. "No, you have nothing to apologise for. Probably saved me from spiralling a little, anyway." She laughed, shaking her head. She definitely wasn't about to go into her issues with her father right now - and definitely not with someone that she didn't know. "I do like to be known as that, yes." Ivy giggled. She wasn't thinking about the possibility of seeing her dad anymore. She was just thinking about Cole and she was glad of that. "Absolutely not." She laughed, shaking her head. "No, the party at Iris's is much more our style. But it's fun to go to stuff like this, you know? And Wren - did you meet Wren? - he's basically the nephew of the person running all this so we automatically get invites, I guess."

WM CJ MS AG NH: Nancy rolled her eyes and hit her brother on the arm softly, yet still in frustration - his stubbornness were absolutely something she had inherited from their fathers side as well, but it was still annoying when he wouldn't do even the smallest things for her. "Shut up, I am not pathetic - and I don't want to be included. You're just being a dick because things haven't gone your way, like you always do." She snapped. Pathetic was one of the worst things you could call Nancy, she hated not being seen as being as tough as the rest of her family and she was sure Noah knew that. "Oh shut up, I'll find her on my own." She muttered, picking up her skirt slightly so that she could walk down the last few stairs. She laughed then, as she saw him looking over at Mia. "Yeah, and I'm the pathetic one." She rolled her eyes. She was glad to see it was just Mia, though and not some girl Benjamin had brought as his date - she was never going to admit to being jealous, but she would've been.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "You're right, if you believe it you can do it. You're like a fairy godmother, only not as colourful." Arlo grinned, shrugging his shoulders. Iris's outlook on life was definitely something he admired and he'd learned a lot from her; being around Iris got him to grow up a lot and he wasn't sure whether she knew that or not, but it did. "I'm looking, I'm looking! It's fucking insane!" He laughed. Wealth and expense was everywhere, from the trays of fancy champagne being passed around to the way people were greeting each other - he knew they were going to have so much to talk and laugh about tomorrow and he couldn't wait. "Umm... Not yet. These masks are messing with my eyes." He laughed, peering over the top of his own to try and spot his cousin. "Oh, she's there! With Noah." He pointed exaggeratedly, waving over at them. Despite the masks, it was still fairly easy to spot Nancy - her dress was practically glittering, after all. "Looks like they're already arguing." He chuckled.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I'm sure I'll find a way to pay you back. I'll unleash some of my super cool dance moves on you after a few more shots, that'll do the trick." Mia laughed, taking a big gulp of her drink when it was handed over. She loved New Years Eve, it was one of her favourite days of the year - everybody celebrating together, waiting for what the new year would bring. It just all felt so positive. "Ooh, tough talk - but seriously, if you think I'm annoying now, you're going to want to stay away when I've had a few more drinks." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. Mia couldn't hide her reaction at Ben's disgust, laughing loudly. "It's the best of a bad bunch! And way better with salt and lime, but I didn't know how all the rich people would feel about us licking the backs of our hands in the middle of their big fancy party."

WM CJ MS AG NH: When Wren looked into the future, he could absolutely see himself having a life like his parents had - falling in love and raising a family, working together to build an amazing life... But he just wasn't ready to start that yet and he didn't think he needed to be. He had time. "I'm sure you can as well - she's a sweetheart deep down." He smiled. Fleur was probably the most loving person he knew; the love she'd shown him and Penny growing up was pretty much second to none and he admired her greatly for it. "Oh really? That should go down as the friendliest break up in history." He laughed, nodding his head. He'd never had a terrible breakup, but he didn't tend to keep in touch with any of his exes; other than speaking to them if he bumped into them when out and about. "I think around your age, actually. They were eighteen when they had me and they hadn't been together for very long - but they were friends for a very long time first."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Oh god, really? New Years really getting to you, huh?" Cole chuckled. He was joking, but he did think the prospect of a brand new year tended to do that to people - it was a lot to think about, how your life was going to change and what was going to come for you. "I don't blame you, it's one hefty title. I'll have to remember to refer to you that way from now on." He grinned, raising an eyebrow. "I thought so - more my style, too. But you're right, this should be a lot of fun." He nodded. "I don't think I got to meet him, but I've definitely heard the name before - we were at college at the same time, he was something of a celebrity around that place." He laughed.

NH IK BA IS BA: There were times when Noah knew that he should be a better brother to Nancy, that he wanted to be a better brother to her. But it was easier said than done - at least for him. He wasn't someone who thought of other people easily. He was a very selfish person - it seemed to be the Hayes way. They were stubborn and pretty selfish but they were fiercely loyal. He would do anything to protect Nancy. "No? So you're fine with people like Willow Hart and Fleur Morley never giving you a second look?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He was almost sure that she wasn't. Noah had never been bothered about people like that. He find the whole popularity thing tiresome. He was never going to pretend to be someone that he wasn't. "Fuck off, Nancy." He huffed before he moved over to the bar. He had lasted long enough without a drink, he thought. But mostly, he knew that she was telling the truth. Whenever he was around Mia, he felt completely pathetic. He couldn't help it. There was some hold that she had over him that no-one else did.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I fucking wish that I was a fairy godmother! That would be so handy." Iris laughed. Growing up, she had quickly realised that she didn't have time to be something that she wasn't. She didn't have the energy to pretend that things were perfect or that she liked something if she didn't. She had been far too focused on keeping herself and her mother alive. She had no choice but to be exactly who she was. And, for the most part, people seemed to like that about her. "Insane." Iris nodded, quickly reaching out to grab her and Arlo a glass of champagne. It wasn't her usual choice but she thought that they might as well since they were there and it was being handed out to everyone. "Here." She muttered, holding out one of the glasses to him. She nodded her head in agreement with Arlo. She was struggling to make out faces with everyone wearing the masks but as soon as Arlo pointed her out, she saw Nancy too. "Come on." She muttered, starting to make her way over to her best friend. She didn't like that the two of them had arrived separately and was desperate to talk to the other about all of this already.

WM CJ MS AG NH joined the chat

NH IK BA IS BA: "Yeah, that's exactly the kind of payment I deserve after saving your ass." Benjamin laughed. Spending time with Mia was easy. She seemed to be someone who understood him completely and he never felt like he had to try too hard when he was around her. She made him feel completely comfortable - and that wasn't something that he felt all too often. So he was more than happy to be spending so much time with her tonight. "Yeah, I might have to do just that." He laughed, shaking his head a little. Though he was definitely joking. Benjamin didn't think that there was much which Mia could do that would annoy him - other than continue to put up with Noahs crap. He didn't understand why someone as amazing as Mia would dote on someone like Noah. Though that was a thought that he definitely kept to himself. "I could just imagine their faces if we did! Do you think they'd kick us out?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Blake didn't even know if she wanted kids. Her relationship with her mum wasn't a good one and while she got along fine with her dad, it wasn't really something which was to be desired. She also knew that it would always be a big decision when it came to her career - it would slow things down for her. And she was only eighteen. She didn't think that she had to be thinking about any of those decisions right now. That was for the future. "Yeah, that's what everyone says..." Blake laughed, sarcastically. She was definitely intrigued to meet Fleur, though. She was theatre royalty, after all. If nothing else, there was a professional respect there for her. "Wow.." Blake muttered. "I couldn't even imagine having a kid at my age, you know? Never mind raising one to be as well adjusted as you are. That's crazy." She thought that, that said a lot about his parents. They had done such a good job raising him.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I actually love New Years Eve." Ivy laughed, shrugging her shoulders. The holiday season was absolutely something which she enjoyed. Everyone just seemed to be that little bit more merry and it was never going to be something that she begrudged. It was why it made her that little bit sadder that she felt a little on edge about the party. She wanted to be able to fully enjoy herself - like she had done the years before. "You should. It's absolutely how I like to be spoken about." She shrugged her shoulders. She liked how Cole seemed to be up for a laugh, that was always something that was important to her in a friend. "It's something new, if nothing else. And when are we ever going to get invited to something like this again, you know?" She was all about taking new experiences by the horns. She was excited to take all of this in. "oh, yeah, that sounds like Wren. I'm sure you'll properly meet him sooner or later."

WM CJ MS AG NH: Nancy had always loved her brother more than anything else, she'd always taken his side and that was why it would hurt so much when he treated her like he didn't even want her around. Especially when there were times they'd get along like a house on fire, when she could see how they could be such good friends. "Oh, look at you using their last names, you must be big and clever." She rolled her eyes, ignoring what Noah was saying - because she knew he was right, she absolutely idolised those women, along with her own mother, and she always would. Nancy was always striving to be perfect, the way that those three were. "Idiot." She snapped as Noah moved away from her, but she didn't go after him - she was already sick of him ruining this night for her and she wanted to find her best friends and enjoy herself. The smile was back on her face as she caught sight of Iris and moved across the room quickly, eyes lighting up. "Hi, gorgeous!" She beamed, wrapping her arms around the other. "God, Noah's making me want to kill him already. I want to get a drink and lose him in the crowds of people, please?" She raised an eyebrow.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I would also love that, you could grant all of my wishes and we'd live the life of riley! I wouldn't even bother getting dressed, I'd just be like Iris, please can you magic some clothes on me? And I'd be done!" Arlo laughed, shrugging his shoulders as though it was something that might actually happen. "Thank you! And cheers." He grinned, holding up his glass before he took a sip and winced slightly. "I'm sure it'll taste better after a few glasses." He followed after Iris, but where she went to Nancy, he moved over to his cousin at the bar. "Hey! Look at you, looking all dapper and handsome - why the long face?" He grinned, although he knew something like this was never going to be Noah's scene.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I'm glad you agree, I think it's perfect." Mia laughed. Just because they were at this big fancy party, it didn't mean she wasn't going to have fun and she definitely intended to dance the night away and have a good time with all of her friends. She knew that Willow and Fleur had been the same when they were their age and they wouldn't be expecting any different. "I do not blame you." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. Mia was well aware that people didn't know what she was doing with Noah, but she didn't think she owed them an explanation - she was an adult, after all. "Oh, me too. I don't know, though - I mean, surely there's no posh way to take a shot of tequila? Unless you pour the salt directly into your mouth or something, which just seems like it would be even worse." She laughed, shaking her head. "What's your favourite shot, then? If you're such a tequila hater?"

WM CJ MS AG NH: Wren couldn't help but laugh then, nodding his head. "I'm sure you've heard some things, but I promise you - she's brilliant. She and my grandmother both have the most terrifying reputations, but they're the most amazing women I know." He smiled proudly. Fleur and Emilie were forces to be reckoned with, but Wren absolutely didn't think that was a bad thing. "No, I couldn't either. Just imagine how it would change the entire course of your life?" He respected his parents so much for that. "I think that's a compliment though, so thank you very much." He laughed. "My grandparents were really involved - they still are, they gave my mum and dad so much support." He smiled. He knew he had the best team around him.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah? Me too! It's my favourite night of the year, after Christmas." Cole smiled, nodding his head in agreement. There was something about everyone coming together to say goodbye to the year that had passed and celebrate all the things that had happened that just made him feel good. He could definitely sense that Ivy was a little bit on edge, but he didn't really know her well enough to question it. "You don't think everyone will be invited back next year?" He chuckled, raising an eyebrow curiously. He wasn't sure how these things worked, if this was a super rare invite or not - but he was grateful either way. "Well, I look forward to it. Anyway - would you like a drink?" He asked with a smile.

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris was just happy when she got to Nancy. Sharing these experiences with her best friend was one of those things that she was never going to tire of. Being here with Nancy was only going to make it that little bit better. "Hey! You look amazing!" Iris beamed, wrapping her arms quickly around the others. "Is he being completely insufferable?" Iris asked, raising an eyebrow. She'd always tolerated Noah. He was like family to her but the two of them had never really gotten along. They didn't really butt heads but they were never going to be the best of friends, either. "I can't believe he's here, anyway!" She laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, of course. They've got some fancy cocktails that we need to try absolutely everyone single one so..." She shrugged her shoulders. She linked her arm with Nancys and headed over to the bar - away from Noah, though. And she tried to make out who everyone was as they passed. She was hoping to see Cole.

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah simply rolled his eyes in response to Nancy. He was already sick of her. Spending time with his sister was never all that easy for him. He loved her but it could be pretty difficult because of their differences. He'd defend her no matter what, though, that was for sure. "Hey." Noah muttered as he heard his cousins voice. He finally took his eyes off of Mia to look at Arlo. "This is just my face." He shrugged. He didn't think that he was being any different to how he would be usually. He was never someone who was all that chipper. This kind of mood was much easier for him. "Didn't take you for a champagne drinker?" He commented before he took a sip of his own drink.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I think it's the only way a favour should be repaid." Benjamin laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He pretty much forgot where the two of them were - he simply felt too comfortable when he was around Mia. And he definitely wanted to make sure that they had a good time tonight. He didn't see why they would go to something like this without enjoying themselves. He smiled as he glanced at Mia. He didn't think that he was ever really like this with anyone else. She was a true friend and he knew that they were going to enjoy the night. "But I can imagine Willow and Fleur enjoying one in their day too." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Do I seem like someone who particularly enjoys shots? I'd rather just stick to a pint or something."

NH IK BA IS BA: "The stories of your mother are legendary, seriously." Blake laughed. She smiled fondly, though, as Wren spoke about the women in his life. She thought that, that was something which told you a lot about a person. And she definitely thought that it was just a good sign. "I think that only the best women get reputations like that." A somewhat bad reputation, Blake thought, was just rooted in misogyny. She didn't think that she would go too far down that rabbit hole with Wren though. "Exactly. And for her to still be as respected in the industry as she is ... that's incredible." She shook her head. "Oh, yeah. I absolutely mean it as a compliment." Blake smiled.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Oh my god, me too!" Ivy exclaimed, giggling a little. She hadn't spoken to Cole too much at the party but she was definitely enjoying herself with Cole. And she liked that the two of them were getting to know one another like they were. She liked that they had seemingly found something in common. It was definitely something which was starting to make her forget about any sort of worry about her dad. And she was focusing on him. "I think Noahs been invited so he'll make sure that none of us can show face again, i'm sure." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Oh, yes please. I'll just have one of the cocktails."

WM CJ MS AG NH: Iris was pretty much the only person in the world that Nancy didn't think she could tired of being around; they were like two halves of the same person, being with Iris was basically like being alone because they were so comfortable with one another and she was so excited to see her tonight. "You too! You like like a complete bombshell, I love it." She beamed. The two of them looked so different they could never be compared, but she thought they both looked incredible. "A complete dick, more like. He's pining." She rolled her eyes, although there was a smirk on her face. She loved her brother so much, but his attitude never failed to get on her nerves. "Honestly, me either - mum basically forced him, though. Said she never got pictures of him at prom, so she at least deserved a picture of him in a suit tonight." She giggled, shaking her head. She had seen how proud her mum had been to look at her babies tonight, though - and that made her happy. "Oh my god, right?! They all look amazing. I don't even know what to get!" She smiled, taking a menu and glancing quickly. "Ooh, I'll have a lavender martini please." She smiled at the bartender. She loved the smell of lavender and she was definitely excited to try it. She waited until it was made up, taking it excitedly - but as soon as the smell hit her, it turned her stomach. Mortifyingly, she gagged slightly and hid it behind her hand with a cough, pushing the drink away from her. "Guess I don't like the smell of lavender anymore." She attempted to laugh it off, shaking her head. "Do you want that one? I can pick another."

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo, being as nosy as he always was, tried to catch sight of whatever Noah had been looking at - but the masks were definitely messing with his head tonight and he couldn't even figure out who Iris and Nancy were amongst the crowd anymore, never mind catching sight of whatever had caught his cousins attention. He shrugged and turned back to Noah with a laugh. "Well yeah, but you know - thought you might treat me to a smile since the year is almost out." He laughed, shaking his head. "Oh, I am not. It tastes vile, actually - but it's free and Iris handed me it and it's New Years Eve, so. Who am I to be fussy?" He laughed, draining the rest of the glass as though to prove a point. "Dunno how I feel about this set menu stuff, though - I kind of just want a beer, but that is not an option." He laughed. He thought you had to be a special kind of posh to decide what kind of drinks other people were allowed and what they weren't. "I like your mask. Got a little skull on there." He grinned, reaching out his index finger to poke the skull gently. "What are you getting to drink?"

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Oh, definitely. In fact, I think it's how I'm gonna pay off all my debts from now on. Hope my landlord will accept it instead of rent - it'll make my life a hell of a lot easier." Mia laughed, shaking his head. She loved being around Benjamin, it was as easy as being around Ivy or Penny and she thought it was because she'd known him for so long. She was the type of person that was always laughing and goofing off anyway, so it definitely made it easier when people joined in with her. "Of course they did! I've seen Fleur doing tequila shots in my kitchen, man. They'd understand." She laughed. When she saw Fleur at something like this, it seemed totally different to seeing her at all of the gatherings their parents had, but she was still the same person. "Well, no - but surely there's one that doesn't make you feel violently ill more than the others do?" She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't think you'll find any pints around here tonight, my friend."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I'm sure she'll love to hear that, you should bring it up." Wren laughed, raising an eyebrow. He thought Fleur would definitely like Blake, even if she was very protective over him. "I would have to agree." He'd always been raised to be very respectful of women; even if his parents hadn't taught him that, the strength of the women around him would've put that in his head - he thought it was one of the reasons he found Blake so attractive. "Anyway, enough about my mother - she's interrupted us enough tonight." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Would you like to dance?" He smiled, holding out his hand. Wren loved parties like this, where people would dance properly rather than just swaying or bouncing around to the music and he thought Blake seemed like she'd definitely enjoy that too.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Cole couldn't remember speaking much to Ivy at the party, but now that he had he was definitely glad he'd stopped her - because he really liked her and he was enjoying chatting to her a lot. He laughed loudly as she spoke, nodding his head. "Oh yeah, I'm absolutely sure he will - but we are all in masks, so they might not actually know it's him causing the trouble." He grinned. As much as he joked, Cole thought he'd really hate to be known as somebody that just caused trouble for everyone else. He wondered how Noah felt about it.

NH IK BA IS BA: There was a part of Iris that knew if she and Nancy were even a little bit similar in their style, then they probably would've had more fights than they had. Both girl was incredibly stubborn and liked to have their own attention. The way that they were, though, meant that people who liked one, probably wouldn't like the other and it was easier that way. At least Iris thought so, anyway. "Oh for fuck sake. Maybe if he'd show her that, then Mia wouldn't be with someone else." She rolled her eyes. Iris couldn't understand what her cousin saw in Noah. She thought that Mia deserved so much better. And she was pretty sure that her cousin was going to end up hurt. That was the last thing that she wanted but Iris knew better than to try and talk a saracen out of something. "So she guilt tripped him. Got it." Iris laughed, nodding her head slightly. She narrowed her eyes as Nancy pushed the drink away from her, though. She had thought that, that would be something that the other girl would love. "You good?" She asked her before taking the glass herself. "Yeah, i'll have it."

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah knew that he was a hard person to be around. He understood that it could be a lot for people but, in a way, he liked it that way. Because at least then he knew that the people that he was around, actually wanted to be around him. It wasn't like there was many redeemable things about him, after all. It was a layer of protection, he thought. "I think you'd get freaked out if I smiled, Arlo." Noah joked, shrugging his shoulders. He loved his cousin. He was probably his very best friend. But that didn't mean he would treat him any differently than he'd treat anyone else. "It's not like there's much we'd enjoy drinking on this list, anyway." He shrugged. Cocktails were never a choice that Noah would usually pick but he certainly didn't have a choice. "Get off." Noah hissed before he laughed a little, rolling his eyes at his cousin. "I'll have an espresso martini. What about you?"

NH IK BA IS BA: "Yeah. I think that's definitely how your landlord will appreciate payments being made." Benjamin chuckled, nodding his head. Since moving out, Ben had found things a little harder than he had ever thought. He and his sister had gotten a little apartment - not too far from their parents - but it could be tough. Making ends meet could be pretty difficult. He couldn't help but laugh a little more as Mia continued and he nodded his head, "Exactly. Although the fact that that's the same person as this blows my mind..." He couldn't imagine having two completely different sides of yourself. He thought that it was pretty interesting, though. He didn't think that he really knew anyone like that. "I dunno. Maybe sambucca? Definitely not vodka. That's for sure." Ben nodded his head, "Yeah, I noticed. I have no idea what to pick..."

NH IK BA IS BA: "I'll be sure too." Blake nodded. She had no idea how things were going to go down between her and Fleur but she knew that they were a long way before they had to figure that out. This was only their first, real date after all. She smiled as Wren agreed with her. She found the fact that he wasn't afraid of admitting a womans strength really attractive. And she knew that she had Fleur and Emilie to thank for that. "I would love too." Blake nodded , taking a hold of his hand. She thought that things like this - with real dancing and all the extravagance - were absolutely amazing. The fact that she was there with Wren by her side only made it that little bit better. As the two started towards the dance floor, Blake began to look around them, "Do you recognise anyone?" She asked him.

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy was someone who could pretty much get along with anyone. She liked flitting from person to person, figuring out what they liked, who they were. She liked getting to know people. And Cole was certainly no exception. She found herself really liking him, if she was honest. He seemed like a really nice person and they seemed to have things in common. "They'll know." Ivy laughed. "Everyone knows when it's Noah." She shrugged. Sometimes, she felt a little sorry for the older Hayes boy. And she had to believe that there was something underneath his facade that was good. She didn't think he would hold Mias attention for as long as he had, if he didn't. "So, do you know the Fontaines, then? Or Willow?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, quickly changing the subject.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Although they were so different, Nancy couldn't really remember she and Iris having any big fights and she thought it was because they matched each other perfectly - Iris always knew how to calm Nancy down and Nancy always knew how to get Iris to get on her level. "She's not with someone else. That's just Ben. They're friends." She cut in quickly, not wanting that to be confused for a second - she wasn't threatened by Mia and she didn't want to have to start being. Mia was with her brother, after all - in whatever weird, casual kind of way they were being. She liked the other and she didn't want her to get hurt, but she thought she must know what she was getting into with Noah. "Basically. You know our family are good at that." She laughed, rolling her eyes. Both Ava and Jude - and their grandparents, had ways of getting them to do what they wanted. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled, eyeing up the drink carefully - she had never had such a weak stomach as she had recently, things she'd loved before were making her sick and it was so strange. She didn't want to go into it, though. "Perfect. I'll have..." She scanned the menu for something relatively plain. "I'll just have a glass of champagne, please." She decided, shrugging her shoulders. "Weird. Anyway, where's your fancyman tonight?" She grinned.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah, you're probably right. I wouldn't be able to look at you the same anymore." Arlo laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He'd been around Noah his whole life and he was more than used to him; in a way, he liked that there was no falseness, what you saw with him was what you got. And Arlo knew without a doubt that Noah wouldn't keep him around if he didn't secretly enjoy his company. "I know, I can't even read half of these names, man..." He shook his head, trying to find a list of ingredients that he could actually stomach drinking. "Okay yeah, I'll have one of those too, please." He shrugged his shoulders. He liked iced coffee, so he assumed this wouldn't be too different. "The girls are gonna be in heaven with these drinks." He laughed. Iris and Nancy had always been cocktail fans.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Imagine how easy life would be if that really was the case." Mia laughed, shaking her head. She knew she was better off than a lot of students were, not because her family were rich but because they would always help her the best they could - and if she really needed to, she knew the option to go home was always there, although she was really enjoying living with Ivy and Penny. Home was just so busy, there was never any time just for you. She was relishing in that. "It's mental, right? She seems like a totally different person together, her and Willow next to each other look like royalty or something." She laughed. "Oh, sambuca?! That's the worst of them all! I'd rather shot vodka any day." She shuddered. "We can definitely find you something, let's look at the menu..." She muttered, taking one from the side and perusing for a few seconds. "What about... Ooh, have you tried a pornstar martini? It has vodka in it, but it just tastes like juice."

WM CJ MS AG NH: Wren smiled as Blake agreed to dance with him, taking her hand and leading the way to the dancefloor. He'd never been much of a clubber, he didn't like being crushed in the middle of a sweaty dance floor with people jumping all over you - something like this was much more his style. You could get drunk and have a good time, whilst still doing your own thing. "Honestly, not particularly - these masks are doing a good job." He laughed, shaking his head. "I saw my sister and Lydia over by the bar, but only because they've completely abandoned the masks and are harassing the bartenders for an ungodly amount of shots." He rolled his eyes fondly. "I'm guessing over there is Nancy and Iris." He pointed over to the two girls by the bar - he figured the dresses very much fit their styles and he'd been around them enough to be able to pick them out.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Cole definitely felt as though he was similar to Ivy; a social butterfly, someone who enjoyed getting a chance to chat to everybody at a party and he didn't want tonight to be any different. He hadn't really paid Ivy much attention before, but he was definitely enjoying talking to her - and even with the mask on, it was clear that she was gorgeous. Who was going to turn down spending time chatting with a beautiful girl? "Even if they don't, I'm sure they can just assume, right?" He chuckled. He had to wonder if Noah was as bad as everyone made him out to be - if he was, he couldn't see why he still had people around him. "Well, I obviously know of them - who doesn't, right?" He shrugged his shoulders. "But I don't know them personally. I'm pretty sure Iris got me invited tonight, because otherwise I have no idea where that came from." He smiled.

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris knew that she owed a lot to Nancy. It was because of her best friend that she had any semblance of a normal childhood. It would've been so easy for her to get completely wrapped up in her mums issues. It would've been so easy to get lost with trying to take care of her. Nancy had been the one to always pull her out of that. To be the one to actually get her to act like a teenager and she knew that she owed so much to the other girl because of that. "Just Ben?" Iris questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I dunno. Looks like they're on a date on New Years Eve.." She shrugged. She was pretty intrigued by Nancys reaction to that, though. Ben was the last person she thought her friend would be interested in. "It's the Hayes way, right?" Iris laughed. She liked that about them, though. She thought that the fact they got their own way - no matter what - was something to admire. It took a lot of strength in their character, she thought. Iris definitely thought that she was going to keep a closer eye on Nancy. She didn't like that the drink seemed to turn her stomach. She laughed a little, though, as Nancy spoke about Cole and shrugged her shoulders, scanning the room. "I'm not sure, actually. It's so fucking dark in here and the masks don't help." She rolled her eyes. "I hope he decided to come, though." She was definitely enjoying getting to know Cole and she wanted to learn more about him. She just had to figure out which one he was, first.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Exactly. So lets not go there." Noah commented. He would be the first one to say that he wasn't the most sociable of people. He didn't enjoy this kind of thing. He was someone who kept himself to himself. There were very few people he would let in too close to him. And it had only gotten worse after Elias had died. Losing his uncle still wasn't really something he could talk about. It hurt too much, even now. "That's because you're basically illiterate." He joked. If it hadn't been for his mum, Noah probably would've seen New Years in at the club, with some random girl. He knew that he probably wasn't being fair to Mia but he didn't know what she expected from him and he wasn't someone that was going to ask. He wasn't someone who found talking about feelings or even admitting that he had any, very easy. "Yeah, this kind of thing is made for them. Nancy was so fucking excited."

NH IK BA IS BA: "I feel like the older that I get, the more i understand the animals revolting in animal farm. You know? All we wanna do is dance for our flat." Benjamin joked along with her. Like Mia, Ben knew that if he really needed it, he could just go home. But he really didn't want to have to need it. He liked the independence that having the flat gave him. He didn't think that moving home was ever going to be something that he was going to enjoy. "Yeah, I can't believe that they're the same people that hang out with our parents." He chuckled, shaking his head. His dad was someone that Benjamin had always looked up too so seeing a glimpse into the life that he'd had at this age was a lot of fun to him. "Each to their own." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, that'll do."

NH IK BA IS BA: There was a part of Blake that loved the idea of going to a club. She liked dancing the night away and having fun with people her age. She liked being able to disappear into a crowd and enjoying herself... but then there was another part of her which absolutely loved events like this. She thought that it was fun to see how the other half lived. "Surprisingly good job, right?" Blake laughed as she glanced around. She couldn't believe how difficult it was to recognise people around her. "Only the two of them would get away with that." She smiled, shaking her head. She hadn't really spoke much to Lydia or Penny but she found the two of them incredibly interesting - their reputations getting ahead of them. "Oh, yeah, that would make sense." Blake nodded. "I didn't know anyone could know this many people.. "

NH IK BA IS BA: The masquerade element of tonight only added another level of fun for Ivy. She thought that it was going to be a lot of fun trying to figure out who everyone was. She knew what Mia was wearing - only because they had gotten Penny to help both of them pick - so she was already on the look out for her but she was also trying to see if she could recognise anyone else. "Exactly. Sometimes, I think he could easily just be peoples scape goats." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. Ivy wondered if Noah could ever drop his walls enough to let everyone get to know him but she didn't think that she'd mention that to Cole. Her eyebrows shot up as he mentioned Iris though, "Oh, right." Ivy nodded. "Well, she's probably with Nancy somewhere. Do you want me to try and help you find her?"

WM CJ MS AG NH: Despite Iris thinking so, Nancy didn't feel as though she owed her anything at all - in every way except biological, Iris was her sister and Nancy thought that was what sisters did for each other. They helped each other through the hard stuff in life and there was absolutely nothing Iris could do that would make Nancy leave her side. "Well, they're not. Mia wouldn't do that to Noah." She shook her head, her tone determined. She was starting to second guess herself now, though - could they be on a date? Was Mia the type of girl that Benjamin was into? Surely not. The two of them were so different. "Through and through." She laughed, nodding her head. She loved her family so much, but there was no denying that the Hayes had a way of getting whatever they wanted - even if they had to fight for it. She was glad they had bypassed the little blip Nancy had had with the drink; she hadn't been sure what had happened, but recently she'd been feeling so strange and she just didn't want to talk about it. "I know! I can hardly spot anyone. I always made fun of the guy in A Cinderella Story for not being able to see it was her, but now I get it." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be around here somewhere. What kind of idiot would turn down an invitation from you, right?" She giggled.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "You got me, man." Arlo laughed, shrugging his shoulders in defeat. There were definite times when he'd seen Noah happy; he just wished he could see it more often. He wished he'd let himself be happy more often, because Arlo thought he could have a really good life if he just let good things happen to him. "Shut up, no I am not! I have read lots of books. Mostly of the comic kind, but still - there are words in there!" He laughed, shaking his head. He'd never gotten the best grades at school, that was true - but his mum had always been sure to let him know that he had lots of other qualities that mattered far more. "I bet. You think when we're older, it'll be Nancy throwing us all these kinds of parties?" He smiled at the thought, raising an eyebrow. He loved hearing stories from when his parents were young and he couldn't wait to be the one telling his own kids those kinds of stories.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Oh my god, me too - I love Animal Farm!" Mia smiled, eyes brightening slightly. She sometimes forgot how much she and Benjamin had in common, being so wrapped up in everyone else in her life and it was nice to talk about this kind of thing, not always having to be involved in some drama or the likes. "I think Gomez is a big part of it, you know? I don't think she'd necessarily choose to be around them all if it wasn't for him. But Gomez and my dad have been friends since they were little kids, Barney too. Nothing's going to break up that little trio." She chuckled, shaking her head. She loved seeing how close they all were. "Perfect! Two pornstar martinis then, please." She smiled. Even now, when she was having such a good time talking to Ben, she couldn't help looking around for Noah, wondering if he was here yet.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah, I really thought I'd have a chance of recognising the people I've spent my entire life around - but apparently I'm not as observant as I thought." Wren laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Oh, they'll still get a bollocking from Willow if she finds them without the masks on." He smiled, looking around for his sister and giving her a little wave. He'd never seen her as settled with somebody as she and Lydia were and he loved getting to see it. "I don't think they do... I think a lot of them will be business associates, people both of them have worked with. And then Jeremiah's family will have a bank of people who come from old money who it would be rude not to invite." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's fun, but I don't know if I can imagine having to host so many people that I barely even know. There's something intimate about only having the people you really care about, don't you think?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He was very family orientated, although he kept himself so busy all the time.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "That's not a bad idea. Everybody could get up to all sorts of trouble and just blame it on him, the poor guy." Cole laughed, shaking his head. When they had been in college, he'd heard Noah's name a lot - and he'd never come across as the nicest of guys, but he had to believe that somebody with so many people around him had at least some redeeming qualities. "That would be nice, actually - I should at least say thank you for the invitation." He chuckled, nodding his head. He didn't want to seem like some desperate weirdo, seeking Iris out when there was a whole party full of people, but he definitely wanted to get the chance to spend some time with her tonight.

NH IK BA IS BA: There wasn't anything that Iris wouldn't do for Nancy. She was her best friend and her sister all rolled into one. She definitely didn't think that she'd know how to do life if her best friend wasn't by her side. "Wouldn't she? It's not like they're actually properly together, right? Has Noah even told her he wants more?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Like Nancy, Noah was like family to her. She loved him like a big brother but she also wasn't blind to his faults. She knew that he wasn't an easy person to be around, to be with. And sometimes, she was a little too harsh on him. She wasn't as protective as Nancy typically was. Iris loved that Nancy was well aware of the person that she was and didn't particularly care. She thought that more people needed to be so self aware. "It wasn't an invitation from me." Iris commented, rolling her eyes. She didn't want Cole thinking that he had to show up just because they'd shared a night together. That was why she had made sure that the invitation hadn't come directly from her. "I guess we'll see, right ? He can absolutely come to me, though." She laughed.

NH IK BA IS BA: It wasn't that Noah didn't feel. Of course he did. He just struggled to emote those emotions very well. He didn't know how to tell people what he thought, how he felt. The only emotion that he could properly emote was anger. And that was how it came across every time - he was worried, he was sad, he was anxious - it was all anger. He knew that he should know how to deal with them better now he was older but he wasn't willing to ask anyone for help, either. He didn't want anyone to see him weak. "Comic books is just an adult picture book, Arlo. You do realise that , right?" He commented, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders as he glanced around the room once more. "Probably. She'll probably marry some rich as fuck dude that'll be throwing these kinds of things all the time." Noah couldn't help but wonder if he'd be there to see any of it. "You wanna get some shots?" He asked Arlo but he didn't wait for the others answer. He turned to the bar and ordered a couple shots of vodka.

NH IK BA IS BA: "It's a classic for a reason!" Benjamin agreed, nodding his head. He always had fun when he was around Mia. But he had never quite realised how much the two of them had in common. She was in a completely different world to Nancy and he liked that .... but why was he comparing the two in his head? He couldn't have feelings for Mia... could he? He had always found her attractive but he hadn't thought it was much more than that. "That makes sense, yeah. I think my dad always thought that, that would be how it was like with him and the Hayes but - well..." He shrugged. He didn't think it took a genius to see the differences between the two families. Although, Ben thought, it was only Noah that was the difficulty. "Thanks." Ben smiled as his drink was ordered.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Or that was the point of this whole thing." Blake shrugged. "People stick to who they know at stuff like this all of the time. Isn't it more fun to have something shrouded in a little mystery so that we actually talk to people that we wouldn't normally." She raised an eyebrow as she looked back up at Wren, "It's working out really well in our case, isn't it?" She giggled. She was having such a nice night with Wren, she didn't think that she would care if she didn't talk to anyone else. She knew that she shouldn't think like that, though. She couldn't let herself get completely wrapped up in him. "You don't?" Blake asked him, "I don't think we'll have the time. We're already so busy now. Surely it'll just become more so as we get a little older?" She hoped so, anyway. Blake didn't ever want to slow down, really.

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy nodded her head, "Yeah, that's pretty much what happens every time so.." She had no idea if Noah deserved half of the shit that he got sometimes but she also was never one to defend him. If she was honest, she couldn't really decide if she liked him or not, or if she felt sorry for him or not. She didn't really see what Mia could see in him, if she was honest. "Alright. Lets look then..." She muttered, trying to see around the room. "This would be so much easier if I wasn't so short." She laughed. She started towards the bar, thinking that, that would be a good place to start.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Well - no, but, you know... She's not like that, is she? They're basically together. She wouldn't do that to him." Nancy shrugged, although she was doubting herself more and more by the second. Of course, she didn't want the two of them to be on a date because she didn't want Benjamin dating somebody else, but she also knew that it would hurt her brother a lot more than he would let on. "He basically couldn't take his eyes off her when he came in. He likes her. He just won't say it. But she'll know." She shrugged her shoulders. She wished Noah was better with his communication, but there was no point waiting around for it - he was so much more like their Uncle Elias than any of them wanted to admit. "I mean, it kind of was... You were the one that asked Fleur to invite him." She laughed, raising an eyebrow. She loved that about Iris, though - the fact she'd go out and get what she wanted. "I'm one hundred percent sure he will. Especially once he sees what you look like." She smiled.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo sometimes couldn't believe that he and Noah came from the same family; his parents had always been so open with their emotions, he knew it was okay to feel absolutely anything and everything and he was open about it when he did. Sometimes, to a fault; but still, he thought it was better than pretending you didn't feel anything at all. "So what was the last book you read then, smartarse?" He laughed, rolling his eyes playfully. He didn't think anybody in their family was the smartest, nobody was known for their big brains - but they all knew enough and they all got by. "Yeah, I can see that happening. I hope so, anyway - I definitely want to be at these kinds of parties when we're older." He laughed. He had no idea who he was going to marry or where he was going to end up, but he absolutely knew he wanted to get married and have a family one day. "Yeah, shots!" He beamed, although he pulled a face when he heard his cousin ordering vodka. "Eugh, are you trying to kill me or something?" He laughed.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Absolutely! What's your favourite, then? Out of all the classics?" Mia smiled, raising an eyebrow curiously. Books were her thing; she loved to read, she always had a book tucked into her coat pocket or shoved in her bag haphazardly, she could spend hours getting lost in a book and she loved chatting to other people who loved to read too. "Yeah, I get that... I guess those problems run deep though, right?" She smiled slightly, raising an eyebrow. She wondered if a friendship could ever properly recover from something like what had happened between Wyatt, Ava and Jude. She smiled as he thanked her, waving her hand as though to say it was nothing. "Speaking of the Hayes - you seen any of them around here? They usually make their entrances pretty obvious." She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Maybe you're right. That, and it gives everybody a chance to get to know people in a different way. Don't you think?" Wren shrugged his shoulders. The masks meant you could chat to somebody for who they were tonight, not based on everything you already knew about them and the person you thought they were; it was absolutely interesting to him. "That it does." He chuckled, nodding his head. "That's a point. I don't plan on slowing down any time soon. If anything, it's only going to get busier." He nodded his head. "Although, my mum still finds time to do things like this and I don't think she's slowed down once in her life. Willow too." He pointed out. Wren's career was everything to him, but he thought it was important to find a balance - still find time to socialise, to see the people you loved.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "So it's pretty much inevitable that it'll happen tonight, then?" Cole raised an eyebrow. He thought everybody had a friend who was a bit of a liability, somebody you knew was going to kick off or cause trouble, but it wasn't usually somebody you were so close to. There were guys on the team that he tried to stay away from, people whose party invitations he turned down habitually... But nobody he would have around him everytime even though he knew they brought trouble with them. "You are short, aren't you?" He chuckled, taking Ivy in properly. "I never really noticed before. I guess it's lucky I'm here on the team." He grinned, peering over the top of her head so that he could look around. "That look like them to you? Over by the bar?" He asked, pointing over to where Nancy and Iris stood.

NH IK BA IS BA: "But she could. Is my point. If she wanted too, she could. And if Noah has an issue, then he needs to pull a finger out." Iris shrugged. She loved Noah - he was family to her - but she couldn't stand him sometimes. She just thought he was shooting himself in the foot with stuff like this and she had always been pretty protective over her cousins. "Is that fair, though?" Iris asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Nancy. "Just expecting her to know? Surely she deserves more than that?" And she'd think that of anyone. Iris knew that she would never accept something like that, someone who just expected her to know how he felt. She didn't think that it was even close to being fair. "I just thought he'd be a good one to add." Iris chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. Her life had never been easy and, as such, she had learnt to grab for what she wanted. And, right now, Cole definitely had her attention. "He better." She smiled.

NH IK BA IS BA: Sometimes, Noah tried to think about what his life would be like if he had grown up with different parents - if he was Arlos sibling, rather than cousin. He wondered if anything would be different but he was pretty sure that he was just wired the way that he was. He was sure that nothing was going to change any of that. "Did I say that I do much reading?" Noah retorted, raising an eyebrow. He was well aware that he wasn't the smartest person. He wasn't dumb by any means but he had never been someone where school came naturally - and he had never really tried with it, either. He'd been sure of what he wanted to do since he was a kid so what was the point? "Then you be the one to throw them." He shrugged. "You'd throw a better party than Nancy would, anyway." He was sure that his cousin would make it a little more fun, anyway. "I can have both of these, if you want? You order what you want." He shrugged.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Depends what your definition of a classic is, I guess." Benjamin shrugged. "I love George Orwell. 1984 is my favourite book of all time." He knew that this wasn't exactly party conversation but he was having such a good time with it, anyway. He always had a book on the go. "What's yours?" He asked her, a content smile on his face. He had never felt this completely comfortable with Nancy. He was always trying to be better. He felt like he could be himself around Mia. "Oh yeah. It's nuts that they're even still friends, if you ask me." He didn't think that he'd be able to do it. He thought that it showed the kind of man that his father was, though. "I think I saw Nancy earlier but ..." He shook his head, "I lost track of her. No idea."

NH IK BA IS BA: "Exactly." Blake nodded. "It's fun, right? I mean, obviously we know who each other are because we came together but everyone else? It's like some big mystery. I love it." She giggled. She was enjoying spending time with Wren but she was also looking forward to getting chatting to others, trying to figure out who it was that she was actually talking too. Although Blake was only young, she thought that it was important to date people who saw life similarly to her. She was always going to be busy. She'd put her work, her training, before anything else. And Wren seemed to understand that, she thought. He seemed to think the same way. She liked that a lot. "Exactly." She nodded. She smiled a little as he continued to talk about his mum. "That's what makes her such a legend." She shrugged. "She did everything she did while having a baby at 18? Absolutely insane." She shook her head. She wondered how it was being raised by that woman but she didn't think that, that was something to mention right now.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Probably." Ivy shrugged. "I don't think he means to be the trouble but - it just comes naturally, I guess." If it hadn't been for Mia, she didn't know if she would spend too much time around Noah. She thought that he was trouble and it would end the rest of them in hot water too. She wasn't about to say that to Cole, though. She laughed as he spoke before she nodded her head, "Really? It's usually the first thing people notice. 5 foot nothing. It's a struggle. So yes, i'm very lucky that you're here." She laughed again. Ivy stood on her tip toes as Cole nodded to someone, so that she could see the girls that he was talking about. As she took in Nancy, she nodded her head, "Oh, yeah. That's definitely Nancy so that'll be Iris."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Well, yeah - but the same could go for anybody that's just seeing somebody, right? I mean let's be honest, even being in a relationship doesn't stop most people." Nancy rolled her eyes. She would rant about Noah all night, but she didn't like hearing other people speak badly of him - even Iris. She loved her big brother and she would have his back through anything, even when she knew he was in the wrong. "She can walk away, right? If she thinks she deserves more." She shrugged her shoulders. She liked Mia, but she didn't like how people seemed to think that the girl was so above her brother - if Mia didn't want Noah, she could leave. Nobody was stopping her. That was how Nancy felt, anyway. "Sure you did." She laughed, shaking her head as she looked over at her best friend. She liked that Iris had something fun with Cole; she thought the other deserved that. "You wanna make ourselves more seen? Make sure he gets the chance to catch you?" She laughed, looking around - she wanted to speak to Benjamin, but she absolutely wasn't to go over while he was stood talking to Mia.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Well then, you're very judgy for somebody with similar reading skills to mine." Arlo laughed, rolling his eyes. Iris had always been the smartest person he knew and he'd always admired her for that; he sometimes couldn't even understand how she kept all that knowledge in her head. Arlo tended to just forget things once he'd learned them - in one ear and out of the other was what his Granddad Freddie said about him. "I dunno, I'd mess something up and forget to invite all the guests or something. Maybe I'll hire a party planner." He laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, you have 'em. I'll have something that doesn't taste like rat poison>" He grinned, leaning over the bar and ordering two shots of something too fancy for him to name, but that sounded a little bit nicer than just straight vodka. "So what, are you gonna spend the whole night talking to me?" He laughed, nudging his cousin gently. He wanted to go and seek Ivy out, but he didn't want to leave Noah on his own - mostly because he knew he would probably be content to spend the whole night alone and not have any actual fun.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Oh, that's a good choice!" Mia smiled, nodding her head. To her, it didn't matter if this wasn't the type of thing people usually spoke about at parties - the whole point of being here was chatting to people and having fun and she was having a good time talking to Benjamin. She could talk about books all night. "Of the classics? It's a cross between Little Women and Wuthering Heights. Used to be Charlotte's Web when I was a kid, because granddad used to read it to us." She smiled at the memory. "Yeah, I agree... Just shows how good of a guy your dad is, though." She shrugged her shoulders. She didn't think many people could forgive that. "No, me either. I'm sure we'll see them at some point." She laughed. Although she definitely wanted to see Noah, she was surprising herself because she had no desire to rush off and seek him out - she was enjoying being with Benjamin.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah, it's more fun than I thought it would be!" Wren laughed. He hadn't really considered the fact that he wouldn't know who anybody was, but it made the evening all the more exciting - he absolutely wanted to spend time with Blake, but he thought he'd like to mill about a little bit too, get to know people and see if he could guess who they were. "It's a lot, isn't it? I mean, for my dad too. He did all of his medical training at the same time as having a baby." He smiled, raising an eyebrow. He definitely admired Gomez for that; medicine was definitely something that interested Wren and he knew that his dad would've loved it if he'd followed in his footsteps, even though he'd never said. But theatre was just too important to him. Too loved. He was never going to choose anything else. "What is it your parents do, again?" He asked curiously.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I guess I noticed but didn't really think about it. You're like a little armrest." Cole joked, chuckling as he rested his arm on Ivy's head gently as though to show her what he meant. "Perfect. Let's head over." He smiled, moving his arm and using it instead to start to guide them through the crowds. Beneath his mask, Cole's eyes widened slightly as he caught sight of Iris - she was gorgeous, as he'd known she would be and he was instantly glad they'd made their way over. If only so he could thank her for getting him invited; but he hoped she wanted to chat to him for a bit, too.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Then what are you complaining about? She has no loyalty to Noah. They're just seeing each other. Why does it matter if she's here with someone else?" Iris countered. She couldn't understand this conversation. She knew that Nancy was protective over Noah but surely she would understand that Mia was free to be with whoever she wanted? Date whoever she wanted? "But you just had a problem with her potentially doing just that." She laughed, shaking her head a little. She wasn't going to start an argument over it, though. She definitely didn't think that it would be worth it. But she found her friends opinions pretty interesting. Iris shrugged her shoulders, as though she didn't have a clue what it was that Nancy was talking about. "Oh? Do you wanna dance?" Iris asked, raising an eyebrow. She hoped she'd find Cole at some point tonight but she was happy enough spending it with Nancy. She was her best friend, after all.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I never said that I was fair, mate." Noah shrugged. School just had never been for him. He would get angry if he didn't understand something, he would get distracted easily. Football and sport was the only thing that could keep his attention for very long. He wouldn't know what to do if his career hadn't taken place. And he knew that he shouldn't take it for granted but he absolutely was. "That's what your misses is for, right?" He raised an eyebrow. Noah couldn't really picture anyone when they were older - partly because he wasn't totally sure that he'd be around for forever. Elias had died young and if he was just like him - why wouldn't he? "Fine by me." He shrugged. It just meant that he got to have more, he thought. It was easier that way. "I'm not making you stay here. Go find whoever it is that you're thinking about." He rolled his eyes. Noah wanted to go to talk to Mia but he didn't think he wanted to go over while she was talking to Benjamin. He couldn't be bothered to deal with it.

NH IK BA IS BA: Benjamin smiled at the others compliment. He thought that, that meant a lot. It was his own personal taste and he liked that Mia liked that. He was aware that this wasn't the usually the type of conversation to have at a party but he didn't particularly care. He was having fun and wasn't that what parties were all about in the first place? "That's my mums favourite - Little Women." Ben smiled. It had been something that they'd read together when he was younger. "That's sweet though. I bet he did all the voices and stuff too, right?" He chuckled. Everyone knew who Gabe Saracen was for all the best reasons. He was the kind of man that Ben thought you should be. "He's the best." He nodded. His dad was his hero. He was everything that he had always wanted to be and so much more. Benjamins main aim in life was to make sure that he did his parents proud - his dad especially. "Probably. They'll find us, i'm sure." He shrugged.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I love a good mystery. This is going to be so much fun." Blake laughed. For her eighteenth, she'd had a murder mystery party and it had been so much fun. That was one of the reasons why she was looking forward to this party. She thought that trying to figure out who everyone was ,was going to be a lot of fun. Blake liked how much Wren obviously admired his parents. She thought that, that was a good sign. "They're both incredible people, Wren. You make so much sense knowing more about them." She laughed. She had always thought that Wren was a force. Fleur and Gomez being his parents just made more sense. "My mums a teacher. Dad works at the family tattoo place. You know Betsy, right?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She figured that most people around here knew Betsy and she loved it. Her aunt was her best friend.

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy only laughed more as Cole rested his arm against her. "Well, at least that's one thing I'm useful for." She joked. Ivy already knew that she liked Cole, that they got along, but someone who could make her laugh was even more important to her. "Alright." Ivy smiled, nodding her head as she started towards the girls. She liked Iris and Nancy but she wasn't completely sure how they took to her or what to really talk to them about. She liked them both a lot, though.

WM CJ MS AG NH: * a couple of hours later *

WM CJ MS AG NH: "He's there!" Nancy whispered with a giggle as she caught sight of Cole, nudging Iris towards him subtly, a beaming smile on her face. They'd been dancing for what felt like hours, having the most amazing night - she'd even had a dance with Penn, Jeremiah and Willow's son and she'd forgotten about how weird she'd been feeling recently; but it had returned now and she definitely wanted an excuse to just stand still for a little bit. "I'll go to the bar and get us some drinks, you go talk to him!" She giggled, not really giving Iris time to say no before she turned and walked in the direction of the bar. She ordered herself a glass of water and took a grateful sip, barely even noticing who was next to her until she looked up. "Oh!" She laughed, tapping Blake on the shoulder. "I didn't even notice you, I guess the mask was doing it's job." She smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you having a good night? You look incredible." She smiled. She'd always thought Blake was beautiful.

WM CJ MS AG NH: By the time Cole had gotten over to where he'd seen the girls, they'd already moved and he wasn't about to chase Iris through the whole party to talk to her - he figured he'd see her by the end of the night and so he'd been enjoying himself, flitting around and chatting to different people, dancing here and there - but now here he found himself, with Iris practically being shoved towards him and he couldn't help letting out a chuckle. "Woah, talk about a bolt from the blue." He grinned, adjusting his mask slightly as he looked at her. "Hey - Happy New Year. You look amazing, Iris." He smiled. He was glad he'd managed to find her, he'd wanted to speak to her all night and especially once he'd seen how amazing she looked. He wondered if she'd been thinking about him at all, if she'd wanted to speak to him like he had her.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia was usually the kind of person who was here, there and everywhere at a party - she liked to get a chance to speak to everybody and make the most of it, but she'd surprised herself by getting so caught up talking to Benjamin. She'd always liked him, always thought he was a good guy but she'd never realised how much they had in common and she hadn't even noticed all the time passing until she looked at the clock and realised they'd been chatting for hours. She couldn't help thinking about Noah now, though - she wanted to see him and so she made her excuses and scoured the room, finally finding him by the bar. "I guess I should've looked here first, right?" She chuckled as she walked up behind him, a smile on her face. "I haven't seen you all night! Thought you might've skipped out on the party."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Hey, you!" Arlo laughed, throwing an arm around Ivy sloppily and practically leaning on her as he got close enough. The free champagne and cocktails had gone right to his head and yet it hadn't stopped him from drinking more, he was so drunk he was slurring his words, but he was having the best night ever. "I literally couldn't tell who the hell was who, I just asked about five different girls if they were you before I actually found you." He laughed loudly, shaking his head as he took another swig of champagne. "Wow... This stuff tasted so gross at the beginning of the night but now it's like, the best thing I've ever tasted!" He grinned, taking another huge gulp as though to prove his point. "Are you having a good night?! I love your mask. Do you like mine?"

WM CJ MS AG NH: Wren and Blake had spent most of the night together, but they'd decided it was time to go and make the rounds and see if they could find some of their friends now - it was only an hour or so until midnight and he figured people would start making their way home not long after that. He didn't want to be rude and not get a chance to speak to anybody. He'd looked for Benjamin a couple of times, but found him busy talking to Mia, so he was happy to see him standing alone now. "Ben!" He smiled, patting the others arm in greeting. "It's good to see you - I came to find you earlier, but you uh - seemed a little busy with a certain someone?" He smiled teasingly, a chuckle accompanying his sentence. He had no idea if there was any truth to what he was insinuating or not, but he would like it if there was - he thought they were both great people. "This is a great party, right?" He smiled, looking around them. "Although the weather outside is... Well, not good. I have no idea how anybody will even get to their car without getting drenched."

NH IK BA IS BA: Dancing with her best friend for hours on end was something that Iris would never grow tired of. It had felt about five minutes since they'd started dancing, when they stopped. She'd danced with more people than she could count but she thought that, that was a part of the fun with all of these things. "Oh my god. Nance-" Iris laughed as she was pushed towards Cole. She didn't have time to protest it. She had definitely wanted to talk to him but she didn't like being thrusted towards him, without a second thought. She wanted to be a little cooler than that. She shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, Nance is never one for subtlety." She laughed. She was really glad that he was there, though. "Thank you. So do you. That green looks amazing on you." She smiled at him. "Have you been having a good night?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Once Blake realised how long that she and Wren had spent talking, she knew that she probably needed to go and socialise a little more. So she had gone to the bar to grab herself a drink. She was, mostly, just people watching when she felt the tap on her shoulder. She instantly smiled at the sound of the others voice, though. Nancy was someone who Blake always thought was a fun time. She was someone who Blake thought could give her a run for her money and that was a lot of fun. "Hey!" She smiled, laughing a little as she adjusted the mask. "Yeah, I didn't realise how good of a job these things would do." She shook her head a little. "I am. It's been a lot of fun." Blake was a little on the tipsy side so getting a little more giggly as she sipped on her drink. "Are you? So do you. But you always do so.."

NH IK BA IS BA: Surprisingly, Noah had gotten talking to a few different people throughout the night. None that especially took his attention, though and none of them could stand to attempt to make polite conversation with him for too long. All he could think about was Mia. And the more that he drank, the more that he thought about her. And the more he got annoyed that she was spending all of her time with some other guy. He wanted to talk to her but the longer the night went on, the more stubborn he became. He didn't want to be the one to make the first move. He smirked a little, though, as he heard her voice and turned his head so he could look at her. "It does track." He nodded, finishing off his drink and instantly asking for another one. "I wish I had." He shrugged.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Hey!" Ivy beamed as she looked up at Arlo. She had been looking for Arlo for most of the night but just hadn't seen him. She was pleasantly buzzed at this point of the night so she couldn't help but giggle a little as she realised how drunk he was. She didn't know why she was surprised, though. That was a very Arlo move, after all. "At least you had some guesses! I had no idea who you were." She'd enjoyed her night, though. She got to talk with a lot of people that she hadn't gotten to know before and that was one of her favourite things. "I can take it off of your hands if you want?" She laughed, raising an eyebrow, although Ivy had a full glass of her own. "I'm having the best night!" She smiled. "Yours is really cool, I love it. Did your mum help you pick it out?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Spending the night with Mia hadn't been how Benjamin had intended but he had enjoyed himself. He had gotten to know her better than ever before and he was already looking forward to talking to her again. She was the first girl to properly distract him from Nancy. Usually, he'd compare them to her. But he didn't with Mia. He just saw her. He had never thought he would have any kind of feelings for her but after tonight, he found himself questioning that a little bit. "Hey!" Ben smiled as he heard his name being called and turned around to see his friend. There was a smile on his face. "What? Mia? Yeah, we've been having a good night." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders, "But you seemed pretty distracted by Blake?" He countered. "It's great." He chuckled, nodding his head. He hadn't even realised the weather outside until Wren mentioned it. "I guess we'll have to make a dash for it!"

WM CJ MS AG NH: "That much was obvious at the party, but I guess she just wanted to confirm it tonight." Cole chuckled, nodding his head. He thought both of the girls seemed like lovely people, but he could never imagine spending massive amounts of time with somebody like Nancy - Iris, on the other hand, was exactly his type of person. "Oh, thank you - I wasn't sure quite how fancy this thing was gonna be, but I'm glad I went on the fancier side." He smiled, shrugging his shoulders. The compliment from Iris was a refreshing surprise; he wasn't really used to girls complimenting the specifics, but it showed how confident she was and he really liked that. "I really have, actually. And I guess I have you to thank for that? I'm hoping so, anyway. That, or some mystery gift giver managed to get my name on the invite list." He laughed, raising an eyebrow. Now he'd said it, he was starting to doubt himself a little bit and he definitely hoped that Iris had been the one to put his name down.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Blake was absolutely Nancy's biggest competition at college and that just made her work that little bit harder; she liked it, which she'd never expected to. Of course, there were times when she felt that rivalry, but mostly she just really liked the other girl - and she admired how hardworking she was. "No, me either - it's difficult, I can't see which boys are good looking enough to be worth talking to." She giggled, shaking her head to show that she was joking. "You've spent pretty much the whole night with Wren, right? He is gorgeous, you're so lucky." She smiled, taking another sip of her water. "Oh, thank you - honestly it took like an hour to get into this dress and I'm scared of what will happen when I try and get out of it, so -- let's just say the pictures better be worth all of the hard work." She laughed. Nancy had definitely hoped that Benjamin would find her at some point, but he'd seemed preoccupied and now she was starting to wonder if Iris had been right... Did he have a thing for Mia?

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia had no idea that anybody thought much of her chatting to Benjamin tonight and especially not Noah - if you asked her, she wouldn't even know if he felt deeply enough about her to be jealous. Sometimes, it seemed like he didn't care at all and other times she was sure he did; the secret side of him, the one she thought only she saw, was worth sticking around for. "Oh yeah? I'm so glad I came over here for your riveting company, then." She grinned, nudging him gently. She leaned across the bar and ordered herself another drink, turning back to him. "What's up then, grumpy guts? Why don't you wanna be here?" She smiled slightly, raising an eyebrow. She thought the fact he'd stayed anyway was definitely a good sign and she couldn't help wondering if it was because of her. "You look good, either way. Very mysterious." She teased, taking her drink gratefully and thanking the bartender.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo hadn't actually intended to get as drunk as he was, but he'd always been a bit of a lightweight and the abundance of free alcohol was just too good of an opportunity for him to pass up. "You had no idea?! That's offensive. My handsome face cannot be concealed by a mask, you should've gotten the vibe that there was an extremely gorgeous man in this room and found me instantly." He laughed, shaking his head. "Absolutely not, you have a full glass! If anything, you should be donating some of yours to me." He grinned, reaching out as though he was going to take her glass jokingly. "She made it! All the masks we found were pretty girly, so she made me this one - she's good, right?" He smiled proudly. If he was totally honest, he had been looking for Iris at first - he hadn't gotten to spend that much time with her tonight, but he was definitely happy to see Ivy as well.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Wren definitely thought that boys and girls could just be friends - and he got irritated enough with everybody insinuating there was something between he and Annie all the time, so he was only teasing Benjamin about Mia, but he definitely thought it would be nice if something were to happen there. "Yeah, it seems like it! I had no idea you guys got along so well?" He smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Well, she is my date tonight - it would probably seem pretty weird if I spent half of the night ignoring her." He laughed, shaking his head. He was proud to say that Blake was there as his date tonight, he thought she was such an amazing person - and plenty of people had told them how good they looked together. "Yeah, we'll have to - or camp out here for the night." He laughed, looking towards the windows. The music was covering the noise of the storm, but Wren didn't think it would be good out there.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Oh, I'm sure." Iris laughed. "But yeah. She's in her total element when she's at stuff like this." She smiled fondly. Like her friend, Iris loved stuff like this. She thought that it was a lot of fun and there were always a million new people to meet. And she knew that she had to get used to this kind of stuff. If she was going to do as well in her career as she hoped, these were the kind of people that she would probably be working with. "Always best. I wouldn't be surprised if Willow told the security not to let anyone who was wearing jeans in." She chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. Iris was someone who would compliment someone just because she felt like it - but she always meant it. She wouldn't say it unless she did. Iris smiled as he thanked her and she shrugged her shoulders, "I took pity on you. What can I say?" She joked. She didn't know if she liked that he had assumed it was her or not.

NH IK BA IS BA: The competition with Nancy was definitely something which Blake appreciated. She thought that it just made both of them that little bit better. It meant that they had to work harder to get what it was that they wanted. And she thought that it meant that they were getting a little taste of what was to come. And she always liked being around people who shared the same kind of drive that she had. "Oh but I thought I saw you talking to Penn a little earlier, no?" She countered, raising an eyebrow. she was pretty sure she'd seen the two of them together while she was dancing with Wren. She laughed, though, as Nancy spoke about Wren and she nodded her head, "Yeah, well, he brought me as his date so..." She shrugged her shoulders. She was never going to tire of telling people - especially someone like Nancy - that. She hadn't been able to believe it when Wren had asked her to go with him. "I say just sleep in it. Tackle getting it off in the morning. They're gonna have to peel this dress off of me. I love it so much." She chuckled, shaking her head. Growing up, Blake hadn't gotten the chance to go to many of these events but she was absolutely loving it. "I'm sure they will be, though."

NH IK BA IS BA: Even if Noah had realised that it was just Benjamin that Mia was talking too - which he didn't - he still probably would've been annoyed and jealous about it. He didn't like her giving her attention to other people. But he also didn't like her knowing that it bothered him so much. He hated that his emotions were always so clear whenever anybody looked at him. "You love my company. Don't pretend like you don't." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. He was sure that he was right. He didn't see why else she would stick around if she didn't. Noah didn't see any other reason why she'd stick around, after all. "Is this something where you really picture me?" He asked her, figuring that answered her question. It wasn't exactly Noahs scene. He'd much rather just go to the club and get drunk with his friends. This was all too much. He smirked, though, at her compliment. "Thanks." He nodded. "You looked like you were having a good night, anyway?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy was never one to pass up a drink but she had been casually drinking since she was a lot younger. Her mum had never really been bothered about her having a drink when she was in the house. And it meant that the mystery of alcohol was gone by the time that she was eighteen. She enjoyed having a drink and getting giddy with her friends but she didn't need it. She was already pretty hyper without it. "And yet you thinking five other girls was me isn't offensive? Am I just one of the masses, Arlo?" Ivy giggled, obviously playing with him. She didn't really mind. It was all so confusing with the masks. "Oh my god, really? That's so good! I love it even more now!"

NH IK BA IS BA: A part of Benjamin wondered if he was just imagining potentially having feelings for Mia just because she was kind and made him feel a little more seen. It definitely wasn't something that he wanted to talk to anyone about, though. He valued their friendship too much to bring that up. "I mean, we've always been friends." He shrugged. "But she needed a lift in tonight so I offered." He wasn't going to explain himself - he didn't really feel like he needed too. But he wondered what Wren was thinking about it all. "You two look good together." He nodded. He thought that they were pretty evenly matched. And they looked like they had, had a good night so that was the most important thing, he thought. "There's enough space, at least."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I can imagine as much." Cole smiled. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to feel in his element at something like this; it was so far from the norm, so far out of his comfort zone and whilst it was definitely fun to be around for one night, he didn't think he'd want to make a habit out of it. "What about you, do you feel in your element?" He asked with a smile. Cole thought he knew the answer to that. "Seriously? God, can you imagine taking a pair of jeans that seriously?" He chuckled, shaking his head. He couldn't help thinking that was a little bit ridiculous. A loud laugh escaped his mouth as Iris spoke, nodding his head. "Yeah, I thought as much. 'Cause I would've just been sitting lonely at home without your generous invite." He teased, shrugging his shoulders. "No seriously, it was nice to be invited. Glad to know I wasn't just some weirdo that turned up to your party." He laughed. At the minute, Cole wasn't really looking for anything serious - but Iris was fun and he liked having fun, so where was the harm in just hanging out and seeing what happened?

WM CJ MS AG NH: With no competition, Nancy thought life around college would be pretty boring; she would just be guaranteed all the parts and although people might assume otherwise, she was a very hard worker. She liked knowing she deserved what she got. "Oh, yeah - but that's different. Penn is rich enough that it doesn't matter what he looks like underneath the mask." She giggled, although she was absolutely joking - contrary to what people seemed to think, Nancy really didn't care about money. She certainly didn't think it was a reason to be with somebody if you didn't like them, anyway. She wanted to be successful and to have nice things when she was older, but it wasn't the only thing she valued in life. "Oh my god, for real?! I'm jealous. Honestly. You must feel pretty great, right?" She laughed. Among their little group of friends and family, Wren was definitely seen as one of the more popular crushes and she'd always thought he was gorgeous. "You have a really good point there. Maybe this is just about to become my everyday outfit." She smiled, looking down at her dress. It was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever owned and she hated the idea of having to take it off at all. "Oh, thank you. You wanna get one together?" She asked, nodding over to the photographer with a smile.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Oh yeah, you're right - something about that miserable scowl just makes my night." Mia teased, the laugh that accompanied her words showing that she was probably speaking the truth - she really did love Noah's company, he was one of her favourite people to be around. "This is probably what I imagine your idea of hell to be - but you're here, so might as well make the most of it, right?" She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. Mia nodded then, turning around and looking to see where Benjamin had gotten to. "Yeah, it's been fun! I just spent about two hours talking about books, which I guess would probably be everybody elses idea of the shittest party of all time, but for me - that's like some kind of rave." She laughed, raising her eyebrows. "We just have to stay until midnight, right? Then we can go and have more fun somewhere else."

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo's parents had never told him he wasn't allowed to drink, but they'd certainly been a little bit more cautious than Audrey's had - he assumed it had something to do with his Uncle Elias and so he'd never really pressed it. Which was probably one of the reasons he was such a lightweight now - he had never been able to handle his alcohol and that was commonly known among his friends. "Hey, I'm just a simple man! These masks are dazzling me, I have no idea who anybody is right now." He laughed, shaking his head. Ivy was definitely one of his favourite people, but he had no idea who he had or hadn't spoken to tonight, a mixture of masks and alcohol completely clouding his judgement. "Right? I'd love to be that good at stuff, mine would just end up a mess of glue." He chuckled, adjusting the mask once more as his eyes scanned the room. He frowned slightly as he saw Iris talking to somebody at the other side of the room; he was pretty sure it was Cole, even though he couldn't see his face and he didn't know why that made him feel so weird.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Wren wasn't usually somebody to poke his nose into other peoples business and he didn't think he'd have even asked Ben about Mia if he'd been sober, but he absolutely thought he had something to pass onto Annie when he next saw her now - he could only imagine she'd be very interested in this new development. "That was nice of you. Are you teetotal, then? If you're driving?" He asked - he didn't think he'd want to be driving back in this storm, so he was pretty much hoping that Ben was going to tell him he was getting a cab home. "Oh, thank you - she's a beautiful girl, I think anybody would look good next to her." He laughed. He had no idea what he thought about he and Blake yet; he liked her company and thought she was completely fascinating, but whether or not he was looking to date or not right now was beyond him. He just wanted to see how things went. "God, right? Although something tells me Willow and Jeremiah would not want all of these people sleeping on their floor." He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. He didn't actually know what was going to happen though, if people couldn't get home - he wouldn't put it past his aunt and uncle to just kick people out anyway.

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NH IK BA IS BA: Iris smiled as she looked over at Nancy. She loved her best friend so much and she liked when people seemed to understand her as well. Anyone who Iris showed a little interest in needed to like her best friend. She meant too much to her to bring someone around if they didn't, at least, get along. "Not quite as much as her." She laughed, shrugging her shoulders, "It's definitely not something I'm used too, that's for sure." Iris thought that she could stick out like a sore thumb at places like this. She felt like an imposter. She tried not to show that, though. "Oh but they do! I remember my mum telling me about this time when her uncle Nick tried going to a Fontaine party - you know them, right? - in jeans and a flannel. No-one spoke a word to him all night." She laughed. She didn't know Nick all too well - Bridie was too withdrawn from the family for that - but she thought that he was such an interesting person. He and Izzy. "Exactly." She joked, nodding her head. "I think we definitely decided that you weren't just some weirdo. I had fun." She shrugged, as though that admission wasn't a big deal. Iris didn't like to play games. She liked people knowing where they stood.

NH IK BA IS BA: A part of Blake wondered if she would be so sure on her career path if it wasn't for Nancy and how much she had, had to work for the things she loved. She figured she could've grown bored of it if she had just been given everything. But with Nancy there, it meant that she had to fight for everything she had and she loved it. She thought that it was such a thrill. "Of course. I should've remembered that." Blake laughed, nodding her head. She thought that she and Nancy were on a similar page. Being with someone with money - and all of the perks that came with it - would be nice but she didn't think that it was the be all and end all. She absolutely wanted to marry for love... one day. "I feel pretty good." She confirmed, nodding her head before she laughed, semi joking. "No, but it is nice. And we've had fun. I definitely think i'll be finding him just before midnight." She giggled, nudging Nancy. "I think we should make it a trend." She nodded. Blake had never really been given the opportunity to wear a dress like this before but she absolutely loved it. "Oh yeah! Good idea."

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NH IK BA IS BA: "There's a reason you came over here, right? What would it be, other than that?" Noah chuckled, raising an eyebrow. If he was a less confident person, he might have questioned how he thought that Mia felt about him. But he was pretty confident in it. He just wasn't totally comfortable with it - because he thought that she deserved so much more. He thought that she didn't see the person that he actually was. He didn't think that someone like her would ever like someone like him if she really knew the kind of person that he was. "When have I ever been one to make the most of things? I enjoy being miserable." He joked. He felt the most relaxed whenever he was around Mia but even then ... he was still a little on edge. He just half expected everything to be taken away from him so why would he ever get too emotionally invested? "Sounds absolutely riveting." He spoke, sarcastically. If he was honest, he thought that, that sounded pretty boring. He didn't understand why she would spend her party like that. Just another con in his column, he thought. "You coming with me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow

NH IK BA IS BA: By the time that Ivy was eighteen, the draw of alcohol was much less than it was for some of the others. She watched some of her friends go absolutely wild with partying and while she always had a good time - she had never let herself get into a really bad state. She'd always been responsible with her irresponsible drinking. Including tonight. "Right, right. I should've known you'd get confused. You're like a magpie. Distracted by shiny things!" She laughed, shaking her head a little. If she was going to be putting money on someone who would get the most confused about the masks it was always going to be Arlo. "I would've loved to see your attempt, though." Ivy giggled, shrugging her shoulders. She followed his gaze across the room, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Iris and Cole, "He's great, right? Cole? Have you spoke much to him?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Benjamin didn't think there was much to talk about where he and Mia were concerned. He liked her, he really enjoyed her company. He thought that, that was all that really mattered. He didn't think that he really wanted to think further into it than that. Not when it was clear that she was smitten with Noah. "I was planning on leaving the car here and pick it up in the morning but I think I haven't had much. If i just stick to coke the rest of the night, I should be alright to drive. Better than walking in that." He sighed, nodding out of the window. "Just take the compliment, mate." Ben laughed, nudging his friend. He wouldn't push Wren to talk about his date- though he was definitely curious. And he couldn't help but wonder how Annie would feel. "They wouldn't just kick people out though, right? Not if it's dangerous?"

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah, I can agree with this." Cole nodded his head. He didn't think things like this would be fun anymore, if you got used to them; if this was the norm, he couldn't imagine having to dress up and put on this face every time you went out. You were supposed to enjoy being around friends, not try to live up to them - that was how he felt, anyway. Cole couldn't hold in the laughter as Iris spoke about her uncle, shaking his head. "You're joking, they all just ignored him?!" He laughed, eyes wide. He couldn't imagine that at all. "Although I have to say, every time I've seen pictures of those two, he's in jeans and a flannel - so I don't really know why I'm surprised." He smiled. He almost respected that, somebody that was true to who they were no matter what the people around them said. He smiled then, nodding his head. "Yeah, I had fun too." There was something so attractive about Iris admitting that like it was no big deal; no playing coy, no pretending it hadn't happened. Just owning it. "I was looking forward to seeing you again tonight."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "At least I've reminded you now - there are plenty of rich boys here, you should start making the rounds." Nancy giggled teasingly, nudging Blake with a gentle arm to show that she was joking. She didn't think it was a bad thing to want to experience the other side of life while they were young; the Hayes were well off, but nowhere near the level of the Fontaines and she was so fascinated by the life they lived. "Oh, you should be. God, I haven't even thought about midnight..." She sighed suddenly, eyes glancing around the room. She didn't want to be the only person here not kissing somebody at midnight - and she didn't want to have to watch Benjamin kissing somebody else, either. Especially if it was Mia. She would just have to find somebody - maybe Penn would be around, she thought. He'd definitely been flirting with her earlier, anyway. "Perfect!" She smiled, linking her arm through Blake's and heading over to one of the photographers, asking them to snap a couple of photos for them. She gave the camera a dazzling smile, wrapping her arm around the others waist. "That'll be one we can look back on when we're old, with our rich fancy husbands and remember the good old days." She chuckled.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "You've got me there, Hayes." Mia laughed, shaking her head as she leaned against Noah slightly. She had never really tried to hide her feelings, she was an out in the open person and she couldn't change it if she tried - she had feelings for Noah and she was pretty sure he had them for her. She knew he wasn't ready to confront that yet, but she couldn't help being hopeful he would one day. "You do get a certain amount of joy out of being miserable, don't you? It's almost admirable." She grinned, shrugging her shoulders. She thought most if it was an act, anyway - when they were alone together and Noah let down his walls a little bit, she saw him smile and laugh and become this different person almost. "Oh yeah, you should be gutted to miss out. I know how much you love that kind of stuff." She laughed jokingly. She shrugged her shoulders then, a little smile on her face. "If you want me to." She wasn't going to force her company on him if he wanted to be alone, but she would definitely like to spend New Years Eve with him.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "That's actually the perfect description of me, I love it! The Magpie. That would be my superhero name. Or you know, if I ever went on I'm a celebrity and did the cyclone challenge - that's the name I'd pick for myself." Arlo laughed. He supposed it was actually pretty accurate; he got so distracted by everything going on around him, all the pretty girls and whatnot, that he forgot what was right in front of him. He shrugged as Ivy spoke about Cole. "I don't know, I don't like him. Get a bad vibe." He narrowed his eyes slightly. Logically, Arlo knew that Cole hadn't actually done anything wrong - he seemed like a perfectly good guy, but he just didn't like him. He didn't like the way he was around Iris, how he just seemed to be there all of a sudden. She was his best friend and he'd hardly gotten to spend time with her tonight. "Look at him, all over her." He rolled his eyes. He thought it just looked sleazy.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah, maybe... Although I don't know if I'd really want to drive in that. I'm sure my parents and I will be getting a cab back, you can share with us?" Wren raised an eyebrow. He was planning on offering Blake a place in the car too, but he didn't think it would be a big deal if Benjamin joined them. It was better than anybody driving themselves in this weather. "I will, then - thank you." He chuckled, nodding his head. "I don't know... I mean, Willow and Jeremiah aren't the most hospitable of people. I think they'll be mostly focused on getting themselves home safely." He shrugged his shoulders. He had seen Willow and Jeremiah all his life and whilst they were generous with some things, they were very selfish about others.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Hence why you almost didn't wear a suit, right?" Iris laughed, raising an eyebrow. These things weren't uncommon for her but it wasn't something that she thought she was ever going to get used too. It just seemed so far away from the family that she was raised in, the life that she led. She couldn't believe, sometimes, that she was even friends with people who were used to a life like this - people like Wren and Penn. "According to what my mum told me, yeah. Are you really that surprised?" She asked, chuckling a little. She thought that everyone pretty much knew the Fontaines. Iris smiled as Cole confirmed he'd had a good time too. She thought that him showing up proved that, anyway. "Good. Then it seems obvious why I'd invite you, don't you think?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I think I might just have too, you know? Bag them while they're young and i'll be sorted." Blake laughed. She was obviously joking. She didn't think that there was anyone that would make Blake think something like that about. She definitely wasn't interested in just going along with something that she wasn't feeling just because they were rich. She was pretty sure that it was the same for Nancy - though she wasn't completely sure. "You haven't? I thought you'd have figured that out ages ago." She laughed. She'd have thought it was the first thing that was on her mind. It hadn't been the first thing on hers but it was close enough. And she definitely hoped that Wren felt the same way as her. Blake smiled for the photographer, posing in a similar way to Nancy, "Oh, this one is going on the wall." She teased, a smile on her face.

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah smirked a little as Mia confirmed it. Because he liked that she would admit something like that, that she did like him. Although Mia hadn't exactly hidden that fact. He was the one pretending like she meant nothing to him. He found that, that was easier than anything else. "It's a way of life. It's just how I am. I'm not sure what people expect from me." Noah didn't pretend to be someone that he wasn't. He was never going to let anyone think that he was different. He wasn't going to pretend to be someone else. The person that he was with Mia, when the two of them were alone, felt so far from the person that he was that he struggling to comprehend it sometimes. "Oh yeah, it's my favourite kind of thing." He rolled his eyes. "Alright." Noah nodded. "We'll get out of here as soon as it turns midnight."

NH IK BA IS BA: "That would be such a good surname!" Ivy laughed, nodding her head. "It's definitely going to stick. I'm going to change your name in my phone and everything! Arlo 'The Magpie' Gallagher. I love it!" She beamed as she looked up at him. She really hated the way that she felt about Arlo, sometimes. So much so, that she tried to ignore it. She was sure that he was never going to look at her like that. Why would him? Ivy raised an eyebrow as Arlo spoke more about Iris and Cole and she looked from the pair of them, back to him. She raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?" She asked, sighing a little. "They just look like a normal pair, Arlo. There's nothing wrong with them." She shrugged. "Are you okay?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Ben shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, I might have to jump in on that." He nodded. He didn't really like the idea of driving at all in a storm like that but he wasn't about to walk. It wasn't like they could really do much about it. Benjamin raised an eyebrow as Wren continued, as he spoke about Willow and Jeremiah and he couldn't help but wonder if that was really true. He definitely didn't know if he believed it, after all. "Then they shouldn't have any issues with people staying here, right?" He asked, though he didn't particularly know if that was true. He wasn't sure what some people were going to do if they had to go out in the rain and the wind like that.

WM CJ MS AG NH: ** a while later, close to midnight **

WM CJ MS AG NH: Historically, Arlo had always been the fun drunk - he was the guy that drank too much beer and ended up running naked down the street, or passing out on someones bathroom floor with obscene images drawn on his head by the other partiers. He was a laugh. But tonight... he just didn't feel like that. He felt different. Bad. He had the worst feeling in the pit of his stomach everytime he looked over at Iris and saw her talking to Cole, everytime he saw them laughing or touching... He wanted to go over there and punch his face off. Because Iris was his best friend; they were supposed to spend tonight together, they were supposed to be the ones laughing. And now this new guy had come in and just taken over? He was in a foul mood and he had been all night, standing by the bar and downing drink after drink. It was almost midnight now and Arlo was so drunk he could hardly see; the lights were dim, everybody had masks on and he just wanted to get rid of this stupid feeling. His mum had always told them that you had to get things off your chest - and in his drunken haze, he thought maybe that was what he needed to do. He downed the rest of his drunk, staggered across the ballroom and looked for Iris - he saw a flash of blonde hair, a dark coloured dress... And Cole. He scowled as he watched Cole move away from her, making sure he was out of sight before he walked up behind her. He took a deep breath, leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I hate seeing you with that guy. I hate it. I don't know why, but I don't want to see you with him - or... or any other guy. You should - you shouldn't be with them. You should only be with me." The words were falling out of his mouth, slightly slurred... But Arlo knew he meant them. "And it's nearly midnight, so if you don't move away from me now, I'm going to kiss you..." He muttered, shaking his head.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Cole and Iris had spent pretty much the entire night together; he hadn't intended for it to be that way, but they had so much to talk about and so much in common that the conversation had just flowed. When she'd gone to make conversation with somebody else, he'd found himself back chatting to Ivy - something he absolutely didn't mind. He found her hilarious and he was right in the middle of laughing at something she'd said when he saw Arlo lurking behind her, looking almost... angry? Had he stepped on his toes? He had no idea if he and Ivy were together or not, but the other didn't look happy. He quickly made his excuses and wandered away, towards the bar - it was soon to be midnight and although he liked both girls, he couldn't help feeling that it was a little weird being around somebody when the clock went, all of the wondering whether or not you were supposed to kiss them and did it mean anything and did you want them to? No, he'd rather bring the new year in with a drink and congratulate everybody afterwards. He ordered himself a drink and turned to the person next to him, smiling as he saw it was Benjamin. "Ah, somebody else who doesn't want to be surrounded by the masses of people necking on in the middle of the dancefloor?" He chuckled, raising an eyebrow and holding up his drink to the other as a cheers.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "You're here!" Nancy laughed as she finally found Iris, wrapping her arms around the other girl. They had been texting each other for about ten minutes trying to find each other, the masses of masked people getting in their way. This was going to be the first new year in a while that Nancy hadn't been with a boy as it turned midnight - and there were options here, Penn Fontaine had found her again and the two of them had been chatting... Nancy was well aware that if they'd been together come midnight, he would've leaned in and kissed her - but she just didn't want it. After being with Benjamin, after being so sure she was in love with him... She just wanted to bring the new year in with somebody she loved. And that somebody was Iris, tonight - the two of them shared the purest love possible and she couldn't think of a better way to bring in the new year tonight. "Not long now!" She beamed as she looked up at the huge clock, wrapping an arm around her best friends waist. She didn't know why, but she felt almost emotional tonight - she thought she was probably hormonal, that was how it felt... except on overdrive. She just felt so grateful for the other girl.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia had already been having a good night, but it had only gotten better once she'd found Noah; she knew this wasn't exactly his type of thing, but she thought he might actually be having a good time too. She'd managed to get a few smiles out of him, at least - and they had a bet on as to whether or not she could get him to dance before the night was out. Mia thought she would probably end up losing that one, as it was so close to midnight, but she didn't really mind. She was just happy being around him. New Years Eve was one of Mia's favourite nights of the year - the idea of starting afresh, everybody getting their chance to do whatever they wanted and say goodbye to everything they'd done that year. It just made her happy. She turned slightly as she heard the first dong of the bell, a huge grin on her face. "Ten seconds until we can get out of here!" She laughed, nudging him gently. Really, she wouldn't have minded staying here all night - but she also liked the idea of being out in London, seeing everybody celebrating and getting to be amongst them. And, of course, getting some time that was just she and Noah.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Excuse me, mysterious and beautiful woman, whose identity I have no idea of? Could I tempt you to bring in the new year with me?" Wren chuckled as he held his hand out to Blake, a charming smile on his face. He'd wanted to make sure he found her before midnight; to him, there was something so romantic about that midnight kiss, about choosing a person you wanted to both end and begin a year with. He'd brought Blake as his date tonight and the time they'd spent together only confirmed that she was somebody he really liked, somebody he wanted to spend more time with. He hoped she felt the same, but he figured there would be better opportunities to talk about that. "Here we go..." He smiled as the clock began to chime, wrapping an arm around her waist and bringing her in closer to him. From the corner of his eye, he could see his parents standing together, waiting for midnight and he couldn't help but smile - they were still so in love, all these years later and he knew already that he wanted that to be his life one day.

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy had, had such a good time at the party. She'd spent time getting to know numerous new people - and spending even more time with Cole. She thought that, that was just a bonus of the whole night. A small part of her had thought that he would see New Years in with her. That he would maybe want to kiss her. She wasn't stupid. She didn't think it would mean anything but she thought that it was nice. It was fun. But when he made his excuses, Ivy figured that it wasn't going to happen and she looked around for her friends - Arlo, Mia or Penny. She stopped dead, though, as she felt Arlo coming up behind her. Goosebumps rose to her skin. She hung onto every single word that Arlo said to her. He was jealous? He didn't want her being with someone else? She didn't understand where all of that was coming from but in that moment, she realised that it was all that she had wanted to hear from him. A part of her wanted to run away. A part of her thought that he couldn't possibly be talking about her. But then he spoke again, about kissing her, and she was rooted to the spot. "Arlo..." Ivy whispered, not sure if he could even hear her over the music. She turned around so that she could look up at him, waiting.

NH IK BA IS BA: Benjamin had enjoyed his New Years Eve but he hadn't been able to stop thinking about Nancy. Even as he spent time with his friends, she was the only thing on his mind. What was she doing? Who was she with? He hated that he couldn't be in a room with her and she not be the first thing on his mind. And when Wren went off to find Blake, he'd gone over to the bar. He definitely wasn't liking the idea of having to go out into the storm soon but he knew that was something he'd have to start thinking about soon. "I, honestly, couldn't think of anything worse." Benjamin laughed. There was only one person there that he would want to kiss and he knew that there wasn't a chance that Nancy would want to kiss him - especially not surrounded by the amount of people that they were. He had seen her talking to Penn. He knew that, that was the kind of boy she was actually interested in. "Drinking in the New Year seems less complicated, anyway." He shrugged.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I am!" Iris beamed, quickly wrapping her arms around her best friend. She had been having a good night but seeing in the New Year with her very best friend felt like the best way to do it. She knew that she could probably find someone to kiss - if she wanted too. But she wasn't bothered. That sort of thing never really did. Usually, she'd be too anxious to think about any of that. She'd be thinking about the state that she was going to find her mum when she got home. Tonight wasn't any different but she was trying to enjoy herself with Nancy, regardless. "I can't believe how quickly tonight has gone!" She laughed, shaking her head a little. She looked up at the clock, a wide smile on her face as she moved to wrap an arm around Nancys shoulders.

NH IK BA IS BA: Unlike Mia, Noah didn't particularly like New Years Eve. He found the promise of new opportunities, starting afresh to be a little overwhelming. He didn't like the idea of a blank slate because it meant that he just had a whole new year to fuck up. A whole new year to let everybody down. New Years depressed him. But he was trying really hard to not let Mia see that. He was really trying to make sure that she had a good night. It was just that dancing was where he drew the line. There wasn't ever going to be much of a chance that he would be caught dead dancing. "Ten seconds for you to change your mind." Noah muttered. He reached out and took a hold of Mias hips, pulling her closer to him. He was pretty sure that she wouldn't be against staying there but he wasn't about to bring up that debate.

NH IK BA IS BA: Blake couldn't help but smile as she heard Wrens voice and she turned around to see him, "I guess I could be tempted to see in the New Year with such a handsome and brooding guy." She laughed. Getting to be Wrens date had been so much fun. She'd had the best time. And bringing in the New Year with him was just the cherry on top of the cake. A shiver ran through Blakes body as she felt Wrens around around her waist and she looked up at the clock for a moment - before she glanced to Wren. "I love New Year." She giggled. She glanced around the room, a smile on her face as she looked to all of the different couples. Though there weren't many that she could really make out.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo felt as though everything had stopped, like everything around them had frozen and only he and Iris existed in that moment - and he was waiting for her to step away, to tell him he was a drunken idiot who needed a glass of water and his bed... But she didn't. She stayed there. And so, as the clock struck midnight, Arlo gently turned her around and leaned in to kiss her gently, softly. Although he'd never imagined it, Arlo had imagined kissing Iris many times... but this wasn't right. It wasn't how he imagined it. It was too... familiar. He'd kissed this person before. It was then that Arlo realised, all too late, that this wasn't Iris - he'd confessed his innermost thoughts and feelings, as well as acting upon them, to Ivy. He froze ever so slightly, hoping she hadn't noticed that as he pulled away - what could he say? Could he possibly pass it all off as being drunk and stupid? Maybe Ivy would laugh? Because she didn't feel that way for him, he was sure. She would laugh and tell him he was an idiot and then it would all be over. It wasn't as though she would think he'd said those things to her, right?

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah, me either." Cole laughed, nodding his head. He absolutely wouldn't have complained about kissing either Iris or Ivy, they were both beautiful girls - but he didn't know if it was just a bit much, if people around here thought it meant anything and he didn't want those awkward conversations. Much better this way - and he was glad to have Benjamin there, too. "Complicated?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. He figured there was a story there and he was definitely curious to figure it out, but he wasn't going to push; everyone was supposed to be happy tonight, after all. "Couldn't agree with you more!" He laughed, watching the clock as the final few seconds ticked by. "Happy new year, man." He smiled, raising his glass to Benjamin and taking a big swig. He was sure the celebrations were only going to get bigger from here, but he could hear the storm outside and as much as he wanted to have fun he figured he'd better start making his way home soon.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Me either! It's like the whole night has been one big blur - and yet here we are." Nancy laughed, shrugging her shoulders. It had been one hell of a year, for the both of them, she thought - they had turned eighteen. She'd fallen in love, had her heart broken. This next year, she was going to be going to university, moving out... They had a lot of big things to come. But Nancy knew they'd always be in it together and that was good enough for her. As the clock struck midnight, Nancy wrapped her arms around her best friend and kissed her cheek excitedly, pulling away with a beaming grin. "Happy New Year!" She squealed, jumping with excitement. She was pretty glad this one had gone, if she was honest - and so, so excited for the one to come.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia knew Noah well enough by now to know that there was the tiniest something on his mind, but she knew that there was no point in asking - if she'd learned anything by this point it was that Noah would tell her things when and if he was ready and not a moment sooner. She let out a loud laugh as Noah spoke, shaking her head. "Oh shut up," she smiled as midnight hit and she let herself be pulled forward, leaning up so that she could kiss him. "Happy New Year!" She whispered excitedly, eyes bright. Mia knew at this point that what she felt for Noah was stronger than just like... it might even be love, but she wasn't going to say that. She was just happy.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Well then, I'm very glad I'm so handsome and brooding." Wren chuckled, nodding his head. "Me too." He smiled, watching the clock along with her. It was one of the best times of the whole year, he thought - seeing everybody together, everybody unashamedly expressing their love for one another and celebrating everything the year had brought. He always relished the idea of new challenges, a fresh slate. And he hoped that Blake was going to be very involved in this new year. He smirked slightly as the clock hit twelve, turning to Blake. "Happy New Year, Blake." He told her, before he leaned down to kiss her with a smile. He couldn't imagine himself bringing in the new year any other way - it was perfect.

NH IK BA IS BA: Although Ivy and Arlo had kissed before, this felt different. It felt more than that. Because he'd told her how he felt about her. He'd told her that he wanted her. This felt different because it was like she was trying to express how she felt for him, without actually saying anything at all. She thought that her words would probably fail her. She didn't notice that something was wrong ... at least until she looked up at him. Ivy smiled as Arlo pulled away from her but one look at his face told her something different - something was wrong. He'd been the one to spill his guts. He told her that he wanted her. Was he lying? Was he already regretting it? Her smile dropped and she raised an eyebrow, "Is everything okay?" She asked him. Though basically as soon as she asked, the storm outside seemed to get even louder and Ivy ducked - almost involuntarily.

NH IK BA IS BA: Benjamin shrugged his shoulders, chuckling a little. He didn't want to make too big of a deal of what he was saying to the other. And he certainly wasn't about to delve into whatever it was that was going on with he and Nancy. "Yeah. Because somehow they always make out like kissing on new years is a bigger deal than it actually is, right?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He figured that, that was probably a universal experience. Benjamin smiled as the clock struck midnight. He fought the urge to not look for Nancy and he turned to Cole, "Happy New Year!" He smiled, clinking his glass with the other before he took a gulp of his drink. Benjamin looked out of the window, trying to see if there was any fireworks - but all he could see was how bad the storm had gotten. "Fuck.." he muttered, shaking his head, "We should probably be making our way out soon."

NH IK BA IS BA: "The best kind of blur!" Iris laughed, in agreement with her best friend. This last year had been absolutely crazy and she was both nervous and excited to see what it was that was going to be coming next. She was sure that the next year was going to be a hell of a time. It was going to be the busiest one yet. And as long as Iris had Nancy by her side, she thought that she would be okay, no matter what. "Happy New Year!" Iris laughed, beaming as she looked at Nancy. It had been years since the two of them had seen in the New Year together but Iris loved that they were. She loved that the two of them were able to do this together. "I love you!" She beamed. She hadn't heard or seen the growing severity of the storm outside.

NH IK BA IS BA: One thing that Noah really liked about Mia was that she didn't push things. She let him feel what he needed to feel without feeling the need to have to get answers out of him. He had enough of that with his parents. He didn't need anyone else trying to push him. "Happy New Year, Mia." Noah smiled as he lent down to kiss her. He would never admit it but he knew that he was in love with her. He couldn't imagine a life without her - he didn't want too. "Alright, lets get out of here." Noah huffed, throwing his arm around Mias shoulders. He started towards the exit of the building but as they moved, the front doors were blown open and Noah fought not to be knocked back. "Holy fuck!" He cried. He couldn't believe that things had gotten so bad outside.

NH IK BA IS BA: New Years Eve was one of Blakes favourite holidays. She enjoyed getting to have the clean state. She loved feeling like the whole world was out in front of her. And the next year was absolutely something which was going to be a lot of fun. She was going to go to drama school. She was so excited about it. And seeing in the New Year with Wren was just a bonus, she thought. Blake smiled into the kiss. She thought that it was pretty perfect. And as she pulled away, she smiled again, "Happy New Year." She chuckled. She was sure that the next year was going to include a lot of Wren and she was so excited to see what it brought.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo waited as he pulled away, waiting for Ivy to laugh or make fun of him... But she didn't. She was smiling - and then she looked almost concerned, as she realised he wasn't smiling too. "I - yeah. Yeah, of course it is." He smiled in response to her question, although his heart was thumping - what was he supposed to say now? It wasn't like he could admit that those words hadn't been meant for her, he couldn't tell her who he had intended them for... He was just going to have to act normal, he thought. As normal as possible. He wrapped an arm around her without even thinking as the storm crashed and Ivy ducked. "Shit..." He muttered, looking around them. "It's like... Really bad out there. What do we do?" He was feeling more sober by the second, his ridiculous mistake clearing his head - but he had no idea what they were supposed to do in a storm like this one. It seemed dangerous to be here, it seemed even more dangerous to go anywhere else.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "That's exactly what I was thinking!" Cole laughed, nodding his head. "I think it's a movie thing - people always act like it means you're going to get married or whatever. Like in the movies." He chuckled. Cole was never big on things like that; he liked the big events, but he preferred to show somebody how he felt in a more meaningful way. Something more personal. Not just because everybody else was doing it; because you were supposed to. His gaze followed Benjamin's and his mouth dropped slightly as he saw the state of the storm outside. "Fucking hell..." He muttered, eyes wide. "I'm gonna have to get out of here - before it gets any worse." He shook his head. He needed to get to the tube, but he had no idea how when outside was this bad.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I love you more!" Nancy laughed, taking Iris's hand and beginning to lead the way to the exit. "Let's go watch the fireworks!" She had always loved watching the fireworks, ever since she'd been a little girl and Jude had carried her outside on his shoulders to see them - she didn't want it to be any different. Her expression was one of confusion as they got to the doors, though and she saw the crowds of people. "What are they saying?" She asked, trying to hear - there was a lot of talking, it all sounded panicked and scary. "It's a severe storm warning, they're saying nobody should leave their homes. Shelter, if you can." Somebody near them was saying. "What the hell do we do?! We can't get home in this!" She was starting to panic already. Nancy ripped off her mask and looked to Iris, eyes full of fear. The severity of the storm was clear now and Nancy just wanted to be at home.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Let's go!" Mia laughed, nodding her head in agreement and following Noah out. A year ago, she had never imagined that the two of them would be like this - sure, there was nothing official about their relationship, but she thought they both knew. They knew what they were; and they had just brought in the new year together, after all. She hadn't even focused on the storm, she'd been so distracted - but it practically hit them in the face as they got the front door and Mia stumbled back, grabbing onto the wall to remain upright. "What the fuck?!" She gasped, pushing her hair out of her face so that she could see what was going on. "Jesus Christ..." Outside was a state. Trees had been blown over, cars were scattered across the roads... it looked like a disaster. She had no idea what they were going to do or how they were going to get out of there.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Okay - you wanna go and find some of the others?" Wren smiled as he pulled away from the kiss, keeping his arm around Blake's waist. He loved this part, getting to see everybody celebrating - but as he looked around, he realised that people had started to crowd around the windows and doors... Something seemed wrong. "Oh dear..." He muttered, eyes narrowing. "Do you think this has something to do with the storm?" He asked. He had noticed that it was getting pretty bad earlier, but he hadn't thought too much of it - he'd just assumed it would calm down and they'd all get home safely and put an extra layer on. But it was clear that people were panicking and he wasn't really sure what to do.

NH IK BA IS BA: Although Ivy didn't completely believe him, as he said that nothing was wrong, she couldn't help but smile. Arlo had told her that he wanted her to only be with him and he'd kissed her ... what could be a better way to start the new year than that? She didn't think - not for a second - that he had gotten her mixed up with someone else. She thought that, if that was the case, then he would've made some kind of joke out of it as soon as he had realised. But no. He had meant to say those words to her and only her. And she felt like she was on cloud nine. Though she absolutely came down to earth with a bump as she realised how bad things were outside. She looked around the room, at the panic, trying to spot Mia, to see if her friend would know more than she did. "I don't know..." Ivy muttered, shaking her head a little. "We can't go out there, right?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Benjamin chuckled as Cole spoke and he nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, exactly. And it's fucking difficult to tell them that it really isn't that deep." He agreed. There was more to it than that, Ben thought, but he didn't think that the other needed to know that, either. "I think Wren and I were gonna get a taxi - You can hop in, if you like?" He didn't like the idea of leaving Cole to fend for himself. Even if he didn't know the other very well, he still thought that he was a nice guy. Though Benjamin didn't know if the taxis would still be running in weather like this. "Wren!" He called out as he saw his friends nearby. "We should get going, right?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris happily let herself be pulled along with Nancy a little while ... until she started to notice the crowd and how panicked people seemed to be around her. "What the..." She muttered. But as she heard Nancys question be answered, as it dawned on her how bad things were outside, her eyes went wide. "I have to get home, Nance." She cried. Iris began to look around the room, trying to find Wren or Gomez - she was sure that if they saw the look in her eye, they'd know what she was thinking about too. She wondered if Mia would too. But she couldn't find anyone. "We can't stay here. This place --" she shook her head as she was shoved to the side by some other panicking party goers. "Fuck! This place is going to blow." She hissed. And as if to corroborate what she was saying, one of the windows near the two of them broke, glass scattering everywhere.

NH IK BA IS BA: As Noah took in the storm and how bad things seemed to be. As he heard how panicked people were around him, he had one thought on his mind. Nancy. He needed to get to Nancy. "I need to find my sister." Noah spoke. He quickly let go of Mia and started pushing back against the crowd. If he had stopped to think about it, he would've realised that leaving Mia in the middle of all of that wasn't fair. She deserved more than that. But all he could think about was his little sister and making sure that she was okay. "Nancy!" Noah shouted, trying to raise his voice above the storm, about all of the people shouting. He didn't see Nancy straight away but he did see his cousin and he grabbed both of the others shoulders, making him look. "Arlo!" He cried, "Arlo, have you seen Nance?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Whatever good mood Blake had been in after the kiss, it was pretty much gone as she realised how bad things were getting around them. She nodded her head at Wrens question. She grabbed her purse from her bag and read the weather warning to Wren. "It's definitely about the storm." She sighed. She couldn't believe how bad it had gotten and how crazy everyone inside was becoming. Before she could say anything to Wren - about getting out of there, about seeing if they could help people - Fleur had taken a hold of her son. "There is a car waiting for you out back. You need to grab your friends and you need to go. Now. Your dad went to help some people but as soon as he's done, we'll be there too. Okay? Go Wren. Now."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I don't think so..." Arlo muttered, although if he was honest he couldn't think of anything he wanted more than being at home. He wanted to tell his mum about the stupid mistake he'd made - and he wanted to be away, safe from the storm. "But I don't know if it's any safer to be in --" Before he'd even finished speaking, the windows had broken and he jumped slightly, moving Ivy along with him. "Shit... Shit..." He muttered, shaking his head. There was no adult here, nobody to tell him what to do and he had no idea what the right decision was. "We could find somewhere to shelter? Until it calms down? That's what most people will be trying to do, right?" He asked, looking around them. He figured it was going to put them in the safest position right now. He spun around as he heard his cousin, shaking his head. "No, I - I haven't seen her or Iris! I don't know where they are!"

WM CJ MS AG NH: As the windows blew, Wren knew instantly how bad this was - and he could only imagine how his father was reacting. Ever since the storm that had killed Annabelle had happened, his father hadn't responded well to anything like this and he was sure he was desperate to be home and safe - but if he knew Gomez, he would be in doctor form, making sure everybody was okay. Before he could even finish thinking, his mother was there and he looked up at her, nodding in agreement. "Come on, lets go." He nodded, taking Blake's hand. He knew it might seem selfish, to leave now - but he knew that as soon as his dad was done, he would want to get out of here and he wasn't going to delay that process. "No taxis will come out now, we have a car - you can come now, if you want to." He told Benjamin with a sigh, gesturing for them to follow him. "You too." He told Cole.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Even as Benjamin spoke, Cole couldn't help thinking about how unlikely it was that they were going to get a taxi in this weather - but Wren echoed his thoughts and he couldn't have been more grateful for the boys offer. "If there's room, I will absolutely take you up on that." He nodded. He wanted to make sure everybody was safe, but they had to be sensible - there was no way they could do anything and the less people here to look after, the better. "Let's go." He nodded, starting to follow Wren and Blake as they started moving.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Nancy's heart was pounding against her ribcage as she saw everything outside; she had always been an anxious person but this was multiplied by a thousand. Especially as she heard Iris. She knew why the other wanted to get home and yet she had no idea how they could make that happen. "I -- I don't know how..." She whispered, shaking her head. She felt sick; not the kind of sick from before, but a terrified, aching nausea, the kind threatening to overtake and send her into a panic. "I want to get out of here..." She whispered, arms folding across her stomach. She screamed as the windows blew, jumping back. "Where's Noah?!" She looked around desperately, trying to find her big brother - she knew she'd feel safer with him there.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia wasn't usually the kind of person who panicked easily, but this was a different situation - a storm had killed her grandma Annabelle and she'd heard about how much distruction it had caused, how much it had hurt anybody. Storms killed. Storms had the power to ruin everything. Already, she was mentally checking in with each of her family, trying to think about where they were and if they were safe. "I --" She started to respond to Noah, telling him that she'd come and look with him, but he had already gone and she was stuck in this crowd of people, trying to fight her way out. There was no way she was leaving on her own; she needed to find people, make sure they were okay first. She could feel her breathing hitching slightly in her chest and she tried to keep the panic at bay, especially as the windows blew and the screaming started.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Oh my god!" Ivy cried as the windows blew out. She couldn't believe that this was happening and she definitely didn't know what they were going to do, how they were going to get home. "Where would we even go?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Because she had no idea. Surely no-one would expect them to leave this place? But she didn't particularly trust where they were, either. Where they were had busted windows and it didn't feel particularly stable. She was distracted from her thoughts, though, when she heard Noahs voice. The last time she had seen him, he had been with Mia. And now he wasn't. "Where the hell is Mia?!" Ivy snapped, looking up at Noah. That wasn't like her. She didn't snap easily. But she couldn't believe him. She couldn't believe that he'd just leave her best friend, in the middle of a storm, alone. Especially knowing the history with her family - like they all did. "I'm going to go find her." She huffed. "Asshole." She muttered as she pushed past him, starting the way that Noah had just come.

NH IK BA IS BA: Blake wasn't really aware of Wrens family history. She didn't know why his mum looked so worried. But she knew that she wanted to get out of there. She knew that she wanted to be somewhere a little safer - especially if Wren was right. If they were going to get kicked out of here sometime soon. Blake nodded her head as she squeezed Wrens hand gently. "Do we know where Penny is?" Blake asked, trying to look around the crowds. She assumed that Lydia and Penny would be coming with them but she couldn't say that she had seen Wrens sister for a while, now.

NH IK BA IS BA: Even as it came out of his mouth, Benjamin knew that there wouldn't be any taxis that would take them. He knew that they'd be stuck there. so he was grateful as he heard Wrens offer. "Alright, yeah." Benjamin nodded. A part of him wanted to check in with Nancy, to make sure that she was okay. But he didn't know if she would appreciate that nor did he know if there would even be room with Wren. He just figured that he needed to get out of there. And he didn't think there was a better chance than going with his friends.

NH IK BA IS BA: "We should get out of here." Iris nodded in agreement. Because, mostly, all she could think about was her mum. All she could think was how freaked out her mother was going to be with all of this. And Iris could practically smell the amount of alcohol that she'd be drinking because of it. And she was starting to work herself into a little bit of a frenzy. But as she saw the look on Nancys face, Iris knew that she needed to pull it together. She needed to be there for her friend. "I don't know where he is." She sighed, shaking her head. "But we can look for him together, okay?" She took a hold of Nancys hand and started to push against the crowd. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that the other Hayes would've left without Nancy. She knew the siblings too well.

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah didn't even think about getting Mia to come with him. He thought that she would just slow him now. He needed to find his sister and literally nothing else mattered. His sister was always going to be number one to him. And the longer that he doesn't see her, the more annoyed he became. Because he couldn't understand where his sister was. "No? You haven't? Fuck!" He snapped, turning around to face the rest of the room. He didn't even pay attention to Ivy. He didn't care what she or Mia thought about him. Not while he couldn't see Nancy. "Fuck - where is she?" He shouted. "Nancy?!"

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I don't know, you don't think there's a room we can camp out in for a little while? Preferably with no windows?" Arlo tried to joke, but his voice was filled with panic - he wanted his mum and whilst he knew that was a terribly babyish thing to want right now, that didn't change the fact that he did. Alba would know what to do, how to keep them safe. He raised his eyebrows as Ivy asked where Mia was - he thought it was pretty irresponsible of Noah to leave her in this kind of situation, but he didn't often stand up to his cousin and he wasn't about to start now. "Come on, we'll find her." He muttered, slipping his hand into Ivy's and following her off. He had no doubt that Noah would find Nancy - and that she and Iris would be together, so finding Mia was what was important right now. Nobody should be in the middle of all of this alone. "God, I can't see a thing..." He muttered, trying to push through all of the people around him.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "She's with Lydia. They're going in Scott's car." Wren heard his mother call over, before he could even open his mouth to discuss where Penny might be. He was happy about that, happy that Penny was safe and they were all going to find their way out of here - if possible, things were getting even worse. "Come on, come on..." He muttered, holding Blake's hand tightly as he moved them all to the exit, where the cars were waiting. He was so glad his mother had the sense to have ordered a people carrier; they would usually have a couple of people coming to continue the party with them, so it was the perfect vehicle to get them out of here. As they reached the car, Wren opened the doors for the others to get in before he jumped in and joined them.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Cole had never imagined the night turning out this way; sure, he'd seen the storm warnings but they always seemed to give a warning over something that turned out to be miniscule... and as silly as it sounded, it was New Years Eve. You just didn't expect this kind of thing to happen right now. He followed Wren and the others gratefully, climbing into the car and buckling himself in. He had no idea how bad this journey was going to be, but he was just happy they were getting out of there.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Nancy had never been good in this kind of situation; she panicked easily, she lost her head and she was never good at making herself feel safe. That was probably why she relied on other people to make her feel like that so badly. She wished, more than anything, that her parents had come to the party tonight - they had been invited, but Ava had turned it down so that they could spend the night with Alba and Aaron instead. "Okay..." She whispered, clinging onto Iris's hand tightly as they started to move through the crowd. "How are we going to get home?" She asked, her voice like that of a frightened little girl. She didn't think they were going to manage and that freaked her out more than anything. "Noah?!" She called as they started to look around the room. "Noah?!" Her skin was prickled with goosebumps and it had nothing to do with the cold from the storm - she was terrified and she knew Iris was too. Although she couldn't shake the fear, she gave Iris's hand a squeeze; to let her know that she was there for her, too. They were in this together.

WM CJ MS AG NH: As Mia tried to fight her way out of the crowd, it only seemed to get bigger - everybody was trying to get to the exit and she was trying to push the other way, trying to find her friends, anybody she knew so that she wasn't on her own. "Shit..." She muttered as she was shoved from side to side, jabbing someone with her elbow as they tried to physically move her. She pulled out her phone and tried to call her dad; she just wanted to make sure he was okay, that he wasn't panicking. More than anything, that he wasn't going to risk his own safety to come here and get here - but there was no signal. "For gods sake..." She whispered, putting the phone away. As her eyes filled with tears, Mia blinked them back furiously, feeling like an idiot - she was not going to cry. Everybody would be fine. They had to be.

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NH IK BA IS BA: Blake nodded her head as she heard Fleur, as she followed after Wren. She hated that such a good night had been ruined by everything that was now going on. That she wasn't even able to stop and make sure that her friends were okay. She had seen Nancy earlier in the night but had lost track once it came around to midnight and she had no idea if the other girl was okay or not. She hated that they were just leaving. But she also knew that they didn't really have much of an option. They needed to get to safety. "What about the others?" Blake asked as the car pulled away, "What's gonna happen to them?"

NH IK BA IS BA: When Benjamin had left the house for the party, he had never imagined that this would be how the night was going to end. And only when he was sat in the car, when he heard Blake, did he stop to think about the others. He had promised to get Mia home. Was Nancy safe? He knew that it was too late to stop the car now but he felt a little sick at the idea of leaving them all alone. He pulled out his phone, wanting to call his sister, but found there was no signal. "We're all okay to bunker down at yours till this all passes, right, Wren?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy had been one of the ones that had tried to have Noahs corner. While Penny hated his guts, she had tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, to see some of what Mia saw in him. But now? Now that he had left her best friend in the middle of the storm, she didn't think that she'd be able to do that again. "Thank you." Ivy sighed, smiling up at Arlo a little. She'd not forgotten their kiss, the words he'd said to her. She just knew that there was other, more important things, they would talk about all of that later. "There's too many people..." She muttered, shaking her head a little. But then she saw a glimpse of someone who she thought was Mia and quickly started to pull Arlo towards her, "There." She hissed, pointing to who she thought was her friend, "Mia!" She cried. Though as Ivy fought against the crowd, her hand slipped from Arlos and she lost her balance, falling to the floor as people continued to move around her.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Fuck off Ivy." Noah huffed, rolling his eyes. He hadn't thought about Mia when he had left her and now he was forced too, he didn't like it. Because he wasn't sure what else he was supposed to do. He needed to look after his sister, to make sure that she was okay. Nothing, other than that, mattered to him. And as Arlo and ivy moved away from him, he heard his sisters voice. He turned around to where he thought he'd heard her from and started heading in that direction, "Nancy?!" He called out again, searching everywhere he could for her. He wasn't sure what he would do when he reached her but he thought that the two of them could figure it out then. "Nance!" Noah called again as his sister finally came into view. "Are you okay?!" He asked, reaching out to her.

NH IK BA IS BA: For all of Iris' life, she had learnt how to squash her own emotions down. If it was her mother drinking and trying to start a fight with her or it was Nancy freaking but, needing her to be calm. She had learnt. And that was exactly what she was doing that night. She was trying to keep calm, because her friend needed her. But inside? She was freaking out. She had no idea where anyone was and she had no idea what state her mother would be in but she figured that she just had to take things one step at a time. She didn't have the capacity to freak out right now. She shook her head at her friends question. "We'll figure it out." But really, Iris expected they'd have to stay there for a little while at least.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "They're going to find a way home. There's nothing we can do to help everyone here, Blake - we just have to get home ourselves." Wren sighed. Like her, he would love to be able to help everyone - but they couldn't. Wren had a selfish Morley streak, but also a logical streak from his father. He knew they just had to get out of there. "Of course you can." He nodded in response to Benjamin. "There's another car just arriving for your parents. We've been told to get you lot home." The driver told them and Wren nodded. "Let's go."

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo knew his cousin had many faults - and he did think that when he'd found Nancy he'd think a bit more logically and realise that he shouldn't have left Mia on her own, but also thought he'd probably do it again if it came down to it. There was nobody who could get Noah to change his ways. "We'll find her, she's here somewhere." He told Ivy, trying to be comforting. "She's there!" He called, pointing over as he saw her, moving as quickly as he could. He felt a tug as Ivy lost his hand though, lunging forward to keep her from falling... but not being fast enough. "Shit!" He exclaimed, instantly getting down to help her up, his face the picture of concern. "Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! Stop pushing her!" He shouted at the people around them, who seemed to have no concern for anybody else but themselves at that point. He had no idea how they were going to find Mia again now, everybody seemed to have shifted - but his main priority was making sure Ivy was okay.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah... Okay." Nancy said softly, nodding her head - she wasn't convinced, though and she didn't think Iris was either. She screamed as another set of windows smashed, although this time the reason was very clear - the huge branches of a nearby fallen tree were poking through, clearly battered by the wind and she covered her mouth with her hands. It was like something out of a movie and she didn't want to be in it anymore. As she heard her brothers voice, Nancy felt just a little bit safer for a second. "Noah!" She cried, running at full speed over to her brother, her hand still in Iris's. "I've been looking for you! I want to go home." She told him, grabbing his arm with her spare hand. "Please, Noah. I want to get out of here. I'm scared." If anybody could make it happen, she was sure Noah could - he was her big brother and to Nancy, he was the best. He would always look after her.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia knew she just had to focus on finding one person; at least with another person, they would be able to talk about how they were going to figure all of this out and they might actually manage to get out of here unscathed. Which was why seeing Ivy felt like a little bit of light was shining through and she instantly began trying to get to her friend as quickly as she could - and then she was gone. Mia wasn't going to give up there, though; she continued moving in the direction she was sure she'd seen her, until she found her and Arlo on the floor. "Shit, Ivy - are you okay?!"

NH IK BA IS BA: "How will they get home? Not everyone has a car waiting for them, Wren." Blake sighed, shaking her head a little. She knew that there wasn't tonnes that she could do to help but she thought that they could've at least tried looking for their friends. Surely they could pack a few more people in the car? She hated the privilege of Wren just thinking that everyone would be okay. She sighed as the car pulled away, looking over her shoulder, seeing people piling out of the place still. "Wren... I really think we should stay and help." She muttered. Though she didn't think it would make much of a difference. They were already on the move. And Blake didn't like it. It didn't even feel safe being in the car in this kind of weather.

NH IK BA IS BA: However many people it felt like was there before she fell, was tripled now that she was on the floor. And it was hard to get any room to even try to get up again. "Where's Mia?" Ivy responded to Arlo, trying her best to hide the tears. This was all so crazy. She didn't think that she'd ever been somewhere that was as crazy as all of this. Her ankle was throbbing and as she tried to put her weight on it, to pull herself up, it failed. "Ow. Fuck!" Ivy sighed as she fell back down. There were so many people around them but her ankle felt like it was on fire and she had no idea how she was going to be able to pull herself up. They were supposed to be finding Mia and she felt completely useless. But it was as if the other read her mind and she appeared. "Oh my god, are you okay?!" She asked Mia.

NH IK BA IS BA: Finding Nancy felt like a weight had been lifted off of Noah. He wasn't sure what he would've done if something had happened to her. He had always thought that his job was to protect his little sister and that was absolutely what he was going to do tonight as well. Noah instantly wrapped a protective arm around his sister as they got to her. Whatever happened now, he knew that he needed to make sure that Nancy was okay. She was his number one priority. Always. "I know. And we will. We just gotta find somewhere to hunker down for a little while, alright?" He spoke to her. There weren't many people who saw a soft side to Noah but Nancy was definitely one of those people. He would do anything for his little sister. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Nance. I promise."

NH IK BA IS BA: As the siblings spoke, Iris took it as an opportunity to look around to place they were in, to try and take stock of what could happen, how they could keep themselves safe. But it was just one big, fancy, room and Iris wasn't sure that anyone was going to be able to keep themselves particularly safe here. But she knew that it was better than being out there. "What the fuck..." She sighed, taking in everything that was going on. She glanced out of the window and it seemed even more chaotic out there - cars flying everything , people crying and screaming. She didn't know what to do. She felt like she was out of control and she hated that. "What the fuck do we do!?" Iris shouted, turning back to her friends. "Have you seen Arlo? Is he okay?" She asked Noah, glancing around the room again. She hated that she couldn't see him.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Wren sighed slightly, nodding his head. "I know that. But us being there, more people being around for them to have to help and house, is not going to help at all. If you want to stay, you tell me and I'll get the car to turn around and take you back - but I just... It's gonna be so much safer for you to come with us." He said, shrugging his shoulders. He really hoped Blake chose to come back to safety with them, but he knew he couldn't control whatever decision she decided to make.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I'm here, don't worry." Mia said softly as she leaned down to help her friend, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine, I'm absolutely fine - what hurts? Your leg?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She'd had first aid training through football, but she very much doubted there was anything she could do right now - they just had to focus on finding somewhere to keep themselves safe. "Arlo, get her other arm." She muttered, as she placed one of Ivy's arms around her shoulder and waited for Arlo to do the same before she stood up, taking the others weight. "We need to get away from all of these people or we're going to get trampled." She muttered. She knew that everybody was trying to find the exit, but even if they did - she didn't think they'd be able to get home. So getting away from the crowd seemed like their best bet.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo winced as Ivy fell down again - it was clear she'd hurt something and that made getting out of there even more difficult. "Ivy, just stay down for a minute..." He told her, looking around to see if there was anybody that could help them. It seemed as though everybody was just focusing on getting out, it was every man for himself. "Okay..." He nodded at Mia's instruction, taking Ivy's other arm to take some of her weight. "Okay, let's move this way... We should try and find the others." He wanted to see Iris and make sure she was okay; he knew she'd be freaking out about her mum, even if she wasn't showing it and he wanted to be there for her. He didn't want her getting hurt because she was distracted.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "No, I don't want to stay here! Please!" Nancy whispered, unable to stop herself from bursting into tears. She didn't want to be there anymore and the thought of having to stay, even to keep themselves safe, made her feel so claustrophobic. She rested her head on her brothers shoulder, trying to stop herself from crying - she was so scared. "Oh god, Arlo..." She whispered as Iris spoke - she'd honestly forgotten he was there and now she felt rotten, because he was their cousin and they needed to be looking out for him too. "Can we call mum and dad? Does anybody have signal?"

NH IK BA IS BA: Blake was definitely conflicted. She knew that he was right. Even if they did stop, it wasn't like they could help too many people. But she hated the idea of them just driving away, of not even trying. And as they drove further and further away, she debated the options before she finally came to a conclusion. "Fine." She sighed, settling into the seat a little. She didn't like it but she wasn't sure that there was much that they could do about it. "I just hope they're okay.." She muttered. She'd hate it if they left and people they cared about got hurt.

NH IK BA IS BA: Finding Mia, at least, was one thing off of Ivys list. SHe was just glad that her friend looked okay, that she didn't seem hurt. "Are you sure that you're okay?" she asked her. She was pretty sure that they all knew what this kind of storm would mean for mean and Ivy just wanted to make sure the other was completely okay, that she knew that she was there for her. "My ankle." Ivy corrected her friend. She hated that she was the one who needed help. They'd gone looking for Mia and Ivy had managed to make the situation that much harder. And with the help of her friends, she was able to pull herself up, though still unable to really put any weight on her bad leg. She figured that it was probably just a sprain or something but that didn't help the situation. "They'll have left, Arlo." Ivy sighed, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't think that, once Noah had found Nancy, he'd be sticking around for much longer.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Nancy, we don't have a choice." Noah answered, firmly. He wanted nothing more than to get out of there. He wanted to be able to get the two of them home but it seemed like an impossible task. "We need to stay inside, alright? Just till it gets a little bit calmer." He had no idea how long that would be but he knew that they didn't really have a choice in the matter. He hadn't even thought about calling their parents but Noah didn't bother to check, shaking his head, "No-ones gonna have signal during something like this." He huffed. He was still trying to formulate a plan but he was struggling to concentrate. He wasn't entirely sober but he wished that he had something harder in his system. He didn't want to be present for all of this. "Arlos with Ivy. He's fine." Noah huffed.

NH IK BA IS BA: The crowd was starting to thin a little now - with a lot of the party goers having left, attempting to get home but she still couldn't see Arlo. The last that she had seen, he had been with Noah. And it infuriated her that the two of them weren't together now. If anything had happened to him, she knew that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from completely freaking out. She was good as long as her friends were. She was really trying to ignore the fact that she knew her mother probably wasn't okay. She had to hope that Johnny was there with her. "I think we should try leaving..." Iris spoke, starting towards the exit. But no later than she took a couple steps towards the door, there was an all mighty bang, then and Iris covered her head, almost instinctively, "What the hell was that!?" She shouted, still not looking up.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I'm fine." Mia nodded. Under ordinary circumstances, she wasn't a big believer in bottling up your feelings - she firmly believed that talking about things helped, but right now she knew that if she were to get into it then she wouldn't be able to focus. She couldn't afford to lose it now, even if all she could think about was her family; her grandma and how scared she must've been, her granddad and how he was feeling right now. Her dad and her aunt and all of her siblings, at their separate parties across London and how they were going to get home. How they were going to stay safe. A storm had killed her Grandma Annabelle, who was to say that they would all be safe from this one? She felt sick. "She's right, they'll be gone by now." She sighed, shaking her head. Mia wasn't happy that Noah had left her alone in the middle of all of that, whatever his reasoning - and she knew they were going to have to talk about it. But not tonight. "We need to find you somewhere to sit down for a second, Ives. Catch your breath a little bit. Rest that ankle." She told her friend.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I don't know..." Arlo muttered doubtfully. He didn't think Iris would leave without him, because he wouldn't leave without her - or at least without knowing she was safe. "Yeah, good idea..." Finding Ivy somewhere to sit at least gave them a few minutes to formulate a plan, to work out what the hell they were going to do. Even though the situation was desperate, Arlo hadn't forgotten what he'd said to Ivy earlier - but he was hoping she had. He hoped they weren't going to have to have a conversation about it, that he wasn't going to have to admit that he'd made a mistake. Thought she was someone else. They managed to get past the thick of the crowd, over to a little ledge on the side of a wall. "Sit down here, Ives." He muttered, helping her onto it. "Okay. What the hell are we going to do?"

WM CJ MS AG NH: Nancy only cried harder as Noah told her they didn't have a choice, because she hated it - she hated being stuck there and knowing they were in danger and having no idea how they were going to get to safety. "I think so too." She agreed with Iris, following her friend when she heard the bang and let out a terrified scream, jumping backwards. "Tree's fallen in front of the fucking exit! We're stuck!" She heard somebody shouting and she turned to her brother, her expression filled with helplessness.

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy nodded her head at Mia. If her best friend told her that she was okay, then she was going to believe her. But she knew that there must be so much going on in her friends mind. "Have you seen Penny? I think I saw her with Lydia last but I - I dunno." She hadn't seen any of the Morleys for a little while and she figured that they'd all managed to get out but she had no idea. Ivy sighed as they finally found her somewhere to sit and she was able to take the weight off of her leg. "God, i'm so sorry." She sighed, shaking her head a little. She hated that she had caused such a drama. "Is there much that we can do? I think we just have to kind of wait for this to all pass, right?" She asked, looking up at Arlo. She so wanted to talk to him about what had been said earlier, about that kiss, but she knew that it had to wait. Now was not the time for any of it.

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah sighed as Nancy cried. He hated it but he was so sure that he was right. Leaving was only going to cause them more trouble. And as he heard that they were trapped, that they couldn't go anywhere ,he marched straight over to the bar. This whole thing was some kind of night mare, they might as well try and dull the pain a little bit. He reached for a bottle of whisky and took a big swig before holding it out to his sister. "We're not going anywhere now." He huffed, rolling his eyes. He had no idea who was still in that room but he knew that it was going to be a while before they were even able to leave. and, really, Noah didn't know how much more the building could take. The windows had already come in, was there more to come?

NH IK BA IS BA: "No. No! Because i need to get out. I need to see my mum!" Iris shouted, her tough exterior failing her for a moment. Because not being home in the middle of a storm was bad enough. Being stuck somewhere in the middle of one was even worse. She felt the beginnings of panic hit her. Iris had suffered with panic attacks since she was a kid. Something about the responsibility of having to look after her mother made her a little unstable. But she knew that she needed to get a handle on it now. She couldn't show that kind of weakness, not somewhere like this. She gripped onto the nearest table, trying her hardest on concentrate on her breathing and not everything else that was going on. "Is - Is there - a basement? Somet - something like that?" Iris asked the others. Though she doubted it, she knew somewhere like that would probably be the safest place to be.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo felt so conflicted as Ivy spoke - because he did think they needed to find somewhere more safe, but what if they got Ivy up and forced her to walk and hurt herself more and they couldn't find anywhere? It would be pointless. He sighed, scratching his head thoughtfully. "I'll go and look, okay? I'll go and see if I can find anywhere and then I'll come back and get you two." He nodded, getting up before he gave himself the chance to chicken out. "I'll be fine, I'll be quick. Hopefully there's at least a big enough storage cupboard." He shrugged. He felt almost proud of himself for being proactive; he wanted to make sure the girls were safe.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia rolled her eyes fondly, shaking her head. "Yeah, because we're just gonna leave you." She told Ivy with a little smile, squeezing the arm she had around her shoulders. She thought for a second as Arlo spoke. "Are you sure you'll be okay? I don't mind going." She shrugged her shoulders, but Arlo was already up and he seemed determined. "Okay. But be quick. And stay safe." She told him. "I'm going to go and get some ice for your ankle, okay? From the bar. Just stay here and I'll be back before you know it." The ankle was already swelling and she knew it needed something, even if there wasn't much they could do.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Nancy looked up as Iris let go of her hand, eyes widening slightly. "You can't go on your own!" She whispered, although selfishly she didn't want to be left on her own there either. "Why don't you --" But before she could even get it out, Iris had gone and was already looking. "I hope she finds somewhere..." She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. Now that they were stationary, she was realising just how freezing it was - the cold wind blowing through the windows. "You can't say that. You can't say that nothing bad will happen. You know what happened to Annabelle Saracen." She said softly, shaking her head. They had all heard about it.

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy nodded her head as Arlo spoke. She didn't like the idea of him leaving, of him looking for somewhere on his own but she knew better than to try and fight with him. She knew that they needed to be somewhere safe. "Okay. Hurry up." She muttered to Arlo. He was one of the most important people in the world to her but even more so after what had happened between them. Her feelings for Arlo matched his. And she definitely wanted to talk more about that. Ivy looked down at her ankle as Mia mentioned ice and she nodded her head. She knew that it made sense, she needed something for her ankle, but she wasn't particularly happy about it. "Be careful!" Ivy called after Mia. Even though her friend was only going across the room, she didn't like the idea of it. because she didn't want Mia getting hurt. Once she was alone, Ivy liked it even less.

NH IK BA IS BA: "I'll be okay!" Iris shouted over her shoulder. She didn't want to ask Nancy to go with her. If she was honest, she thought that Nancy would be more of a hinderance than a help. Because she'd just feel like she had to concentrate on the other, make sure that she was okay, before she thought about anything else. She sighed as she pushed into the hallway but things seemed almost worse. It was even darker and it felt even colder and Iris wasn't even sure where to start. She sighed, attempting to push open the first door that she found. But it was locked - or blocked - and so was the next one. It was then, that she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around quickly to look at who it was and sighed a massive sigh of relief as she saw Arlo, "Oh my god. Thank god you're okay." She sighed, racing over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah was trying to ignore everything that was going on around them. That was why he didn't offer to follow after Iris. He was going to stay there, getting more drunk. It was easier that way. At least he could ignore the sense of panic that was there. "Oh fucking hell, here." He huffed, pulling off his blazer and handing it over to his sister. She looked like she was about to freeze to death and he had the alcohol. That would keep him warm, he thought. "And that was a once in a fucking million chance. She went outside in the middle of a storm! We're inside. It'll be fine." He shrugged. It wasn't like they could believe anything else.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Looking after Ivy was giving Mia something to focus on, to keep her mind occupied; but every time there was a crash of thunder or a big gust of wind, she was transported back to that night. Everything she'd been told about it meant she could picture it perfectly and she was sure the same went for her siblings, for Iris; she could just imagine how scared her dad was right now. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts and made her way over to the bar, taking the ice bucket and pouring out the melted water, refilling it with fresh ice from the machine. She hadn't really registered that the bar was right near one of the blown through windows; she was just focused on getting what Ivy needed. There were other people there doing the same thing; getting ice or water or even booze. She was completely distracted, so when a huge gust of wind blew and the makeshift bar began to topple over, Mia was unsteady on her feet - especially when somebody there pushed her in front of them, trying to get themselves to safety. She fell to the floor, arm trapped under a particularly heavy shelf and she muffled her cry of pain with her other hand.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo took a deep breath and began to move across the room, down one of the corridors and started trying the doors - they were either locked or blocked, but he figured he needed to get further downstairs. That was where the rooms with the least windows would be, with the least ways they could get hurt. As he got further down, he could see somebody else ahead of him - and when he realised it was Iris, he let out an equally big sigh of relief. "Thank god you're here! And you're safe!" He breathed, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Even Iris's touch made him feel safer, just knowing she was okay and she wasn't out there in the storm. "God, I wanted to look for you but they said you'd left. I'm - are you okay?" He asked, shaking his head. "I'm trying to find somewhere we can stay, somewhere safe." He figured she was doing the same thing. At least now, they could look together.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Nancy hated that her brother was just sitting there, getting more and more drunk - she thought it was obvious he was only going to be less helpful if he was drunk and to be honest, she didn't feel as safe around him when he was. He always seemed to get himself into some kind of trouble. "Thank you..." She muttered as he gave her his blazer, wrapping it around her shoulders and snuggling into it. She sighed then, though. "And who knows where the others are? What if mum and dad come out to try and find us, or Alba goes to make sure granddad is okay?!" She demanded. She knew Noah wasn't in the mood for her to be talking like that, but she needed reassurance. She couldn't help it.

- joined the chat

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy crossed her arms over her chest, sighing a little as she waited for Mia. Because she wasn't particularly sure what to do. It wasn't like she could move very far on her own, so she couldn't follow after the other. She just had to hope that her friend was okay. "Mia?" Ivy called out after a couple of minutes had passed by. She hadn't seen her friend go down but she figured that the other would've come back by now. She wished that the other had come back by now. She had no real idea of how long had passed. It could've been a few minutes or a couple hours. It felt like she'd been waiting for forever and no time at all. "Mia? Are you okay?" She shouted, a little louder. She just needed someone to respond.

NH IK BA IS BA: Seeing that Arlo was okay was one thing that was off of Iris' mind. At least he was okay. That was another tick. The biggest one, though, her mum, that was still something that she still wasn't sure on. Her mum was her biggest worry. "I'm okay. Just worried." Iris nodded. She didn't see the point in lying to him, after all. "Are you okay?" She asked him, her hand gently placed on his cheek for a moment. Before she remembered what was going on and she nodded her head. "Yeah, me too. Nancys freaking out so..." She shrugged her shoulders. "I told her i'd try and find somewhere but I don't - there's nowhere." She huffed. She knew that there was probably a million more rooms that she could try but she was beginning to give up on it a little.

NH IK BA IS BA: "They're not stupid enough to do that, Nancy!" Noah snapped at his sister. Though a part of him knew that it could happen - especially their Aunt Alba. There wasn't much she wouldn't do for Freddie, after all. A part of him wondered if his dad would be there outside, trying to get to the two of them. Though Noah knew it probably wasn't the case. He knew that his dad would probably only be there for Nancy, anyway. Why would he be there for him? He was distracted, though, as he heard the commotion from behind him, from the bar. And he saw Mia. "Fuck!" He snapped. He was uneasy on his feet but he quickly made his way over to her and landed on the floor next to her in a huff. "Are you okay?! Fuck - what's wrong?" He asked her, not quite seeing what was happening in front of him properly.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I'm fine, it's fine!" Mia hissed as the people around her began trying to move the shelf, only causing more pain to her arm - she'd had football injuries before, sprains and twists and whatnot, but this felt worse. In fact, it was beginning to go a little bit numb. She needed to get back to Ivy, she couldn't believe she'd lost focus, been off her guard - and now this had happened. "Shit..." She whispered, turning to look at her arm. She looked up as she heard Noah; she hadn't thought he was still here, but she didn't have the capacity to be angry at him right now. She needed his help. "Can you - I need you to move the shelf. My arm is stuck." She told him, wincing slightly. She wanted somebody that would move it as quickly as possible, no fuss - because every time somebody touched it, another shooting pain would rocket up her arm and it was agony. "And I need to get back to Ivy. I need - fuck. The ice..." She muttered, realising it had scattered all over the floor when she'd gone down.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah, I'm fine - I'm absolutely fine." Arlo nodded, covering the hand that Iris placed on his cheek with his own. "I thought she might be - but she's okay, too?" He raised an eyebrow. He was glad they had been together, anyway - and he figured she was with Noah now. "All of these rooms are either locked or blocked so badly I can't get in. Do you think -- we just turn back?" He asked doubtfully, looking towards the door. Almost as soon as he was done speaking, though - there was another bang. "No..." He whispered, sprinting down to the door... and when he tried to open it, his suspicions were confirmed. They were trapped in the corridor. "I think - I think something's fallen outside the door."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "You don't know that! You wouldn't have gone out to look for me, if you couldn't find me here?!" Nancy snapped back, eyes full of tears. She knew multiple members of her family that were impulsive enough to go out into the storm, just like Annabelle had done and she was terrified that the same fate would befall them. She squealed slightly as she heard the noise behind them, turning to see what had happened - she didn't see Mia, but she saw her brother go over and she followed closely behind him. Mia's arm, trapped under the shelf, made her stomach turn and she had to turn away quickly, taking a deep breath. This was all so much worse than she'd ever imagined.

- joined the chat

NH IK BA IS BA: The longer that Ivy waited, the more worried she became. It seemed that the longer they all stood there, the more intense things were becoming outside and she wished that there was something she could do. She felt so helpless. All she could do was sit there. Ivy tried pulling herself up but the pain was too much and she quickly sat back down again. She didn't like not knowing where Mia was, if she was even okay. "Mia?!" Ivy called again, hoping the other would hear her and at least tell her what was going on. She saw a little group gathering around the bar, she heard the clatter around where Arlo had gone. Things were falling apart around them but she had no idea what they were supposed to do.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Good." Iris nodded, a small smile on her face. She was just glad he was okay, that nothing had happened to her. "Yeah, she's okay. Just panicking." She nodded. If she was honest, she thought she'd find Arlo in a worse state than he was but she was glad that he seemed to be okay. "I don't know... surely there's somewhere.." She commented. She glanced back down the corridor and jumped as she heard the bang. She watched Arlo for a second as he ran back to the door. "What?!" Iris snapped, running to Arlos side and trying to push it open herself. "I promised Nancy i'd be right back. Fuck." She hissed. The lights in the corridor were already starting to flicker and she figured that it wouldn't be long until they completely gave out and they'd be plunged into darkness.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Nancy, will you shut up?!" Noah huffed. Because he didn't see the point in thinking about what if. She was right, though. If he knew that Nancy was out in the storm somewhere, there wasn't anything that would've stopped him from going to find her. The Hayes were nothing if they weren't impulsive. He quickly placed the bottle down as Mia told him what had happened, what she needed and he moved over to the shelf. He was a pretty strong guy and he was grateful of that when he grabbed a hold of the shelf. He lifted it off of Mia - with the help of one of the others who had gathered - and tossed it to the side. "Ivy, collect some Icy and take it to Ivy." He huffed. "You need to wrap your arm in something, Mia."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Me?" Nancy asked worriedly - what if Ivy was in even worse shape than Mia? She would have absolutely no way of helping her, she was terrible in situations like that. Nonetheless, she grabbed the bucket and filled it with as much ice as she could, as well as a towel from the bar and hurrying over to where she could hear Ivy shouting. "She's okay, she's - I think she hurt her arm, but there are people with her." She told the other, handing her the ice and the tea towel. "What happened to -- ew, oh my god!" She squealed as she saw the others ankle. "What happened to you?!" She realised just how lucky she, Iris and Noah had been to be relatively safe and okay so far. It didn't seem as though the others had been as fortunate.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I figured." Arlo nodded his head. Nancy was nothing if not consistent - and usually, he'd be panicking alongside her, but something seemed to have taken over. He felt pretty calm and he thought it was because he knew there were people he needed to help. People already panicking. Someone had to stay calm. "Hey, hey - she's with Noah, right? He's not going to let anything happen to her. She'll be fine." If anything, he was more worried that they were all going to come looking for the two of them - he hoped they figured they were together and safe and stayed where they were. He looked up at the flickering lights and sighed, getting his phone out of his pocket - the signal was down, but the torch still worked and he put it on, resting it on the floor. "I think we'd better make ourselves comfortable, Riss." He shrugged his shoulders. There was nothing they could do - and if anything, that made him feel more calm.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia bit down on the inside of her cheek as the shelf was removed, trying to make as little noise as possible - she knew that screaming and crying wouldn't make anything better right now, but it hurt so badly. She took a few seconds to regain her composure, pushing herself into a sitting position with her good hand. "Thanks." She told the people that had helped her, standing up clumsily. "I know..." She muttered, looking around them - there was nothing even remotely similar to what she needed. "It's fine. It'll be fine. Somebody will come and help us soon. When the storm dies down."

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy was feeling more and more panicked, the longer that the night went on. She had no idea what was happening to Mia or Arlo and she hated that. She wanted her friends to be okay. She raised an eyebrow, though, as Nancy came over to her. That wasn't the person that she had been expecting. "What?" Ivy asked, her eyes going wide, "What? Are you sure that she's okay?" She asked. She hated that she couldn't be there for her best friend. She hated that she had gotten hurt trying to help her. "I tripped. I think it's just a sprain but .. .I dunno." She shrugged her shoulders as she took the tea towel from Nancy. She lent down to rest it against her foot, trying to ease the pain a little bit more. "Do you - Have you seen Arlo?" She asked, glancing at the other. She had thought that he would be back by now.

NH IK BA IS BA: "She's nothing if not consistant, right?" Iris laughed. She loved her best friend but sometimes, Iris wished that she had more of a chance to feel her own emotions. She was always making sure that Nancy was okay. She always put the other girls feelings ahead of hers. She knew that it would've been the same if Arlo had been there with her, if he was panicking too. "He was drinking. The last time I saw him." Iris rolled her eyes. She didn't know why he couldn't keep it together for two seconds. "Smart." Iris commented as Arlo pulled out his phone and she quickly did the same thing. It made sense. At least they wouldn't be in total darkness then. Iris nodded her head, sighing a little as she moved to sit down on the floor. She held out her hand for Arlo. "You know what happened to my grandma Annabelle, right?" She asked him, her voice quiet.

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah knew that he shouldn't have left Mia but even as he looked down at her, he couldn't feel guilty. Because he would do it time and time again. In a crisis, his sister was always going to be his first priority. And he thought that Mia was old enough and capable enough of looking after herself. She was the last person he thought he'd find in something like this. "What the fuck happened, Mia?" He huffed, raising an eyebrow. Because he couldn't understand how she'd gotten herself into this situation. Surely she knew to be more careful than that?

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Yeah, she's fine. She'll be fine." Nancy didn't know if that was a lie or not, but she figured it was better than telling Ivy she wasn't sure - the other girl was clearly panicking and she didn't want to make it worse. Sometimes, Nancy thought lying in situations like this one was actually kinder. "It doesn't look great..." She muttered as she looked at the others foot, wincing slightly. "Maybe you should take off the shoe? Do you want me to do it?" She asked. She didn't think having anything on it right now would be helping, even if it was a little impractical to be barefoot right now. "Arlo? No, I -- oh god, I thought he was with you." She whispered as the realisation hit her. "Where did he go?" She wasn't worried about Iris, because she figured she'd gone back to where they had been before - she was back, she was fine, she just couldn't see her. She was probably helping Noah and Mia right now.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo couldn't help chuckling as Iris echoed his exact thoughts, nodding his head. Nancy reminded him so much of his mum; everything he'd heard about her when she was younger, seemed to be echoed in Nancy and he loved that. Even if it could be a little hard to handle sometimes. "Yeah, well... I dunno, that might actually make him more helpful." He sighed. Noah was usually more tolerable when he had a drink in him, at least. "Thanks - the brains had to shine through sometime, right?" He chuckled, moving to sit next to Iris and taking her hand, squeezing gently. "Yeah..." He sighed softly, leaning into her comfortingly. He'd known she would be thinking about that. "But this isn't like that. Everybody knows now. Everybody will be staying safe." He hoped that was the truth, anyway. "And Johnny will be with your mum, right?"

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia continued looking around for something she could wrap her arm up with; it was already agonising just having hang down by her side and she just wanted something to relieve it, even for a little bit. She sighed, though, as Noah huffed at her - she wasn't really in the mood for his judgement, not when he'd left her in the first place and now he was here, reeking of booze. "I came to get some ice for Ivy, she fell on her ankle - and then the bar blew over and everybody was pushing and shoving. It could've happened to anybody." She muttered, finding an old pillowcase in one of the drawers that must've been used to polish glasses. "This will do." She muttered, trying to fashion it - one-handedly - into something that resembled a sling.

NH IK BA IS BA: Ivy nodded her head as Nancy spoke. She didn't know if she totally believed the other girl or not but she thought it was probably better than trying to come up with some kind of alternative. She wanted to see Mia but it wasn't like she could go anywhere. She knew that she couldn't do much to help. Ivy sighed as she looked down at her ankle and then back up at Nancy. She had no real idea what she was supposed to do. "Do you think it's that bad?" Ivy asked, raising an eyebrow. But she quickly nodded her head. She tried kicking off the shoe but it was pretty difficult with the size of her foot, now. She was instantly filled with dread, though, as Ivy realised no-one had seen Arlo. "He went looking for somewhere for us to hide from the storm but - He said he wasn't going to be very long." She sighed, glancing over to where she had thought he had gone. "I thought he'd be back by now."

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris had spent so much time with Nancy, she knew what her friend needed, how she was. It was pretty easy to know what it was that she needed to do to look after the other. She lent into Arlo a little as he sat down beside her, "I didn't know you had more than two brain cells so this is good to know." She joked, though it was a half arsed attempt. She was struggling and she only let Arlo properly see that. "What? Like we are? Here? You think it's safe here?" She questioned, looking up at him. And it was a genuine question. She wanted to know what he thought. "You think that matters?" Iris asked, "That Johnny being there would make her any better? She'll drink until she can't see straight. And it's not like anyone can get her to do anything she doesn't want to do then." She hated that she was this worried about her mum. She hated that she went away to a party and her first worry was her mother. She couldn't completely let her hair down, enjoy herself. Bridie would always be at the back of her mind.

NH IK BA IS BA: "And that's your problem?" Noah asked. He knew, instantly, that it was the wrong thing to say, though. He wasn't going to back down. He wasn't going to apologise. Noah didn't apologise unless it was something really, really bad. And he didn't think that this was. He thought that this was something she could probably handle. "But it didn't happen to anyone, Mia, it happened to you." He sighed. And he hated that it had because he hated that she was hurting. He hated that there wasn't something that he could do.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Well, it's not good - right?" Nancy asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't know what was wrong with Ivy's ankle, she just knew that something definitely was - they were meant to be that big. Or that colour. She could only imagine how much it hurt. She moved to lean down by the girls leg and unbuckled her shoe, taking it off delicately. "These are really pretty." She told her, popping it onto the ledge next to her. She took the ice then, almost without thinking and held it against her ankle. "That's where Iris went... Maybe they found each other and went off to look together?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She had to think that, or she knew she was going to start crying again - nothing could happen to Iris or Arlo, they had to be okay. And if she knew anything about the two of them, it was that they would fight tooth and nail to keep each other safe.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Guess we found a third one, right?" Arlo chuckled, although like Iris it was clear his heart wasn't in it. It was the best he'd felt since all of this started, though - being next to Iris. She tended to have that effect on him. "Safer than we could be, yeah." He shrugged his shoulders. He knew the whole building wasn't safe right now, but there was only one window and it was way down the corridor - they just had to hope they'd be okay. "Maybe not, but he'll stop her from doing anything to put herself in danger. You know that. You can trust Johnny." He knew the other loved Bridie enough that he would make sure she was safe, even if she was in a drunken stupor. Sitting here, holding Iris's hand, Arlo was having a hard time not thinking about everything he'd said to Ivy earlier... Everything that had been meant for Iris. He wanted to say it to her, to tell her everything... But he knew it wasn't the right time.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Well, she's my best friend - so it kind of is." Mia raised an eyebrow. She thought that much was obvious, really - she would do anything to help the people she loved. She was surprised that Noah didn't know that by now. She folded her arm into the pillow case, holding the two ends behind her neck. "Would you tie this, please?" She asked, turning so that Noah had access to it. "I know. And it's going to be fine. At least it wasn't somebody's head." Mia knew that if she didn't try and look on the bright side right now, she would crumble. All she could think about was the possibility of her dad coming out in that storm to get his babies - and she hoped to god he hadn't. "I need to get back to Ivy, she's hurt."

NH IK BA IS BA: "Yeah, I guess not." Ivy nodded. She couldn't believe how bad it had gotten and how mad tonight had been. She was still reeling from Arlos confession and then the storm craziness...She almost couldn't believe that it had all happened tonight. And now she also had to deal with her ankle - and Nancy was right. It definitely didn't look good. "Oh, thank you. They were my mums." She chuckled, shrugging a little... though the laugh fell quickly as she felt the ice on her foot. It stung a little but she knew that, that was just a part of the healing - she hoped so, anyway. "Yeah, maybe..." Ivy muttered, nodding her head. She couldn't help but feeling a little worried, though. "Should we - I mean - should we go see if they're okay?" She asked. Though she didn't know if there was very far that she could go. She just wanted to make sure that everyone was okay.

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris nodded her head, a small smile on her face. She felt more comfortable now that she was with Arlo. It felt like she didn't have to worry about putting on some kind of mask. She could just be herself and tell him how she was feeling, what she was worried about. Now that it made her feel too much better. "I guess that's fair." Iris sighed, though it didn't particularly fill her with much hope. She wasn't sure that things weren't going to get worse before it got better. "And what if he isn't?" She asked. "There. I mean. What if he's with the twins or Ginny and she's on her own?" Because that was her main worry. Iris had no idea if Bridie was on her own but if she was, Iris was terrified of seeing what she was going to go home too. "Is it weird to say that I'm glad you're here?" She asked him, sighing a little.

NH IK BA IS BA: "That doesn't make it your problem." Noah shook his head. Although he thought that he probably thought that because he didn't really have a best friend - not in the way that Ivy and Mia had, anyway. Although he guessed that it was similar to what he'd do for Nancy - he'd do everything for her. "Yeah, sure." He nodded and did just as she asked him too. It wasn't perfect but it had to be enough for now, he thought. "Right. because your arm is a much better option, right?" He asked, raising an eyebrow before he rolled his eyes. He didn't even think about how bad this would be for Mia - about her dad and his mum. "Nancys with her. You're hurt too. Better you just stay sat for a moment."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Then she has good taste." Nancy smiled, shrugging her shoulders. She had always admired her own mother for her taste, Ava had always been perfect to her and she thought Ivy seemed to look up to her mum that way too. She raised an eyebrow as Ivy asked if they should go after them. "Can you?" She asked doubtfully. She would happily go and look for their friends, but she didn't think Ivy could make it that far and she would feel pretty bad leaving her alone right now. "They'll be together. They'll definitely be together." It was as though repeating it would make it real - she just hoped they were together and they were safe.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "He will be. There's no way Johnny would leave her alone tonight." Arlo shook his head. He was pretty certain of that; the storm warnings had been out for days, even though he hadn't paid much heed. If he knew Johnny at all, he knew he'd have been there with Bridie from the start - and he wouldn't be surprised if Ava and Jude had gone round when it had started to get bad, too. "It's not weird. I'm glad you're here too." He smiled, shifting slightly so that he could wrap an arm around Iris's shoulders. There was absolutely no one else he would want to be stuck in this corridor with. He sighed then, the feelings he'd been trying to hold back bubbling up in his stomach and it was almost like word vomit, the words falling out without him even being able to stop them. "I told Ivy something earlier..."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "It does to me." Mia shrugged her shoulders. Ivy and Penny were as much her sisters as Annie and Gabi were, there was nothing she wouldn't do for them. "Thanks." She told him gratefully, feeling slightly relieved now that her arm was up - but she was definitely frightened that she couldn't really feel the pain anymore, it was more numb and tingly. "Than somebody's head? I'd say so, yeah. Arms can be fixed." She shrugged her shoulders. Mia knew she was being short, a little more blunt than she normally would be - but she couldn't stop the thoughts flying around her head. She was struggling. She sighed, crossed between knowing that Noah was right but just wanting to make sure Ivy was okay. "Okay. For a moment. But then I have to go and make sure she's okay." She sighed, taking a seat on one of the ledges.

NH IK BA IS BA: "She does." Ivy nodded. She absolutely adored her mum - though it was more like she was her best friend than her mum sometimes. The pair got on so well and Audrey was so much fun to be around. She idolised her mum. And she thought that, that was pretty clear to anyone that was around the two of them. Ivy sighed as Nancy questioned her and shrugged her shoulders, "Probably not." She hated how much of a burden she was. She wanted to be able to make herself useful, to help. But she could barely move and she knew that sitting was the only way that was going to make it better. "I hope you're right." Ivy sighed. A part of her - the selfish part - wondered if Arlo was telling Iris all about what had happened, what he'd said to her. And she wondered how his friend would take it. She'd always wondered if there was something going on between the two of them. Now, it seems, she had been completely wrong.

NH IK BA IS BA: "What? Like I did?" Iris sighed. She couldn't help but be on the defensive sometimes. Even if she knew that Arlo didn't mean anything by it. She knew that she shouldn't have left her mum when there was something like this going on. A part of her wondered if Bridie had even thought about her or if she was just wallowing in her own self pity. She figured it was probably the latter. She smiled slightly as he agreed with her. SHe felt safe when she was with Arlo. She knew that he'd look after her and she hoped that he knew the same thing about her. She would do anything to make sure that he was okay. She raised an eyebrow, though, at his next sentence and shifted slightly so that she could look at him, "Oh yeah?" She asked, "What did you tell her?" A part of her wanted to make some joke but one look at his face and it told her that this was not the time.

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah shrugged his shoulders, "You shouldn't be fucking putting yourself in harms way for them, Mia." Though he knew he was one to talk. It was his way of saying that he was worried about her. He had left her, sure, but that didn't mean that he didn't worry. It just meant that he didn't think. Which, he thought, was pretty common for him. "Whatever." He huffed, rolling his eyes. He couldn't figure out why she was being so short with him. He didn't think that it was just because he had left her but he had no idea why else it would be. The storm being a tricky thing for her to process was the last thing on his mind. "Good." He sighed, nodding his head. He picked up the bottle once more and took another swig, "You want some?" He asked her, "Might make it hurt less."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "It's lucky that you guys have the same shoe size. I'd love to borrow my mums shoes." Nancy laughed. She was just trying to make conversation at this point, trying to make herself forget about the storm going on outside - she didn't know Ivy all that well, but she seemed nice and Nancy found her pretty easy to chat to. "So we'll stay here, then. Do you need some water or anything?" She asked, looking around them. She felt pretty useless, but she hoped Ivy didn't mind. "They will be. Those two are like - drawn to each other." She smiled. She had no idea what had happened between Ivy and Arlo, no idea about the girls feelings for him; she'd always been sure that Arlo and Iris were going to end up married, even though Iris wouldn't hear about it.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "No, not like that at all. You're a kid, Riss - you deserve to go out and do fun stuff." Arlo sighed, shrugging his shoulders. He thought Johnny knew that too, which was why he made sure to be around as much as he could. Once Arlo had spoken, he couldn't figure out whether or not he regretted it; he knew it wasn't the right thing to say, but he needed to tell her. He'd gotten so close earlier and now they were here, trapped and he didn't know if he could keep it in all night. "I, um... I told her I didn't want to see her with other guys. Or, actually, that she shouldn't be with other guys. She should only be with me." He said softly, looking down at his feet, unable to look at Iris. "And that I thought about kissing her all the time." He whispered. Leave it at that, he told himself. Just leave it there. Laugh, tell her you were drunk and it was stupid, that you need advice on how to get out of the situation. "I thought she was you."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I came to get her some ice, Noah. I didn't know that was going to happen." Mia sighed, shaking her head. "And I'll be fine." Even if her arm was broken, it would heal - she had to keep thinking like that. She'd be okay. Sitting down, relaxing, made it even worse; it gave her more time to think and she hated that. She wished more than anything that she could get in touch with her dad, tell him to make sure he stayed inside and didn't come to get her. She couldn't help wondering if his mothers genes ran deep enough that he would make the same impulsive decision, go out into the storm to make sure his children were safe. She hoped not. "I --" She almost reached out to take the bottle, but she shook her head. "Better not. I already feel pretty dizzy." She shrugged her shoulders. She wanted to make sure she was in control, in case anything else happened, in case anybody else needed help.

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NH IK BA IS BA: "It's about the only thing of hers that actually fits, though." Ivy joked. She didn't know if the two of them talking, trying to keep things light, was weird or not. She didn't want to have to focus on the bad that was happening outside. She thought that distracting themselves was the best way to go. And she was glad that she was with someone like Nancy who seemed to share the same idea. "Some water might be good actually, yes please." She nodded. She had never really had much of a chance to talk to Nancy but she actually quite liked the other girl. She thought that she was so different to the person that everyone might think she is from a glance. "Yeah, i've noticed that." Ivy smiled but she couldn't help but wonder if Nancy meant something else by what she had said. She didn't want to question it thoguh.

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris wouldn't know what she would do if Johnny wasn't around but she couldn't understand why he was. She didn't understand why anyone would have the capacity to stick around for as long as he had when Bridie was the way that she was. She forgot all about her mum and Johnny, though, as Arlo spoke. As he told her what he had said. And she couldn't work out how it made her feel. There was a sinking feeling in her stomach ... which stopped as he said those final five words. He thought that it was her. "What?" Iris laughed, pulling away from him. Her first thought was that it was a joke. Arlo couldn't possibly say all those things, thinking it was her. They were friends. Best friends. "This is some sort of joke, right? Some kind of prank? Is the door even blocked?" She asked him, standing up then to give it a try. Because she didn't know how to react. The possibility of something happening between her and Arlo was so far out of the relm of possibility, she had never let her think if her feelings for him were more than just friendship. And even now, with him telling her that he felt that way about her, she didn't let herself stop and think about what that meant. How she felt about it. Because the idea of having anything more than just friendship with Arlo was too much for her brain to take it. It would be too complicated, she thought.

NH IK BA IS BA: "But you knew that it could've. Because anything could've happened tonight." Noah sighed. "It's just an arm, right?" He rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Noah found it easier to pretend like he didn't care. Because it was quite the opposite. Those people that he cared about, he cared about them so much that it was hard for him to think about. He felt like he couldn't breathe, sometimes, because of how worried he could get. Losing Elias had been the hardest thing that had ever happened to him and the idea of losing another friend was too much. So he shut down. It was easier that way. He shrugged his shoulders as she refused the drink and took another gulp.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "Oh, I guess I'm lucky in that way. You get the shoes, I get the clothes." Nancy smiled, shrugging her shoulders. She was always borrowing things of Ava's, she loved being told she looked like her mum and she got it even more when she would wear things Ava had once worn. "No problem." She opened her bag and took out a little bottle of water - she'd put it in before she left, because she'd been feeling so sick, but hadn't actually taken a sip. "I haven't drank out of it." She told Ivy, handing it over. "It's because we've all been friends since we were babies. They used to put us down for naps in the same cot." She laughed, smiling at the memory. "Do you have any friends like that?" She asked curiously.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Arlo sighed as Iris took in what he'd said; of course she thought it was a joke, because he'd never alluded to any feelings for her at all... But also, sometimes, Arlo felt like there was no one that ever took him fully seriously. So why wouldn't Iris think he was kidding? "It's not a joke, Iris." He sighed, shaking his head. "I - I think I have feelings for you." There it was, out in the open; and he was under no impression that Iris had to return his feelings, but he just wanted - needed - her to know. Even now, standing and looking at her trying to open the door, Arlo wanted to cross the space, hold her in his arms and kiss her. But he knew it was the wrong thing to do. He had no idea where they went from here, though - they were trapped.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia sighed, then - she was so trapped in her own head that she hadn't even considered that Noah going on like this was his way of saying he cared. His way of saying she might be a little bit afraid. "Noah..." She said softly, sliding her hand into his - the one that wasn't holding the bottle. "I'm okay. Nancy is okay. We're all going to be okay." She told him gently. She felt bad, being so locked in that she hadn't even thought about how he might be feeling. But she wanted him to know she was there for him, too - even if it was just to let him be angry about the fact she'd hurt her arm.

NH IK BA IS BA: "Together it would've been so perfect." Ivy laughed, nodding her head a little. Like Nancy, she loved being told that she was like her mum. The two of them didn't get that they looked all that alike but their personalities. People thought that it was always pretty obvious to pick out Audreys daughter in a crowd as soon as they had heard her and she loved that. "Oh, perfect." She nodded, undoing the bottle and having a little sip. Before the countdown and they had realised how bad the storm was, Ivy had been pretty tipsy. Now, she was stone cold sober. And the water was definitely helping the headache that was creeping up. "That makes sense. You guys have always been close, right?" She asked her before she shook her head at the others question, "Nope. My mum had me when she was pretty young so no-one around her was really having kids then." She shrugged.

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris was in complete disbelief as Arlo spoke and she couldn't believe that he had picked now to tell her, when she literally couldn't get away. She wanted to run and there was nowhere for her to run too. "No you don't." Iris spoke, quickly. Because she couldn't let that sentence linger. She couldn't let the idea that Arlo had feelings for her, get into her consciousness because she knew that it was something she'd think about over and over again. She'd fixate on it and she knew that she'd have to figure out what that meant for the two of them. If she stopped to think about it, she'd quickly realise that she had feelings for him too. But she didn't want that. She didn't want things to change. Her life was manic enough without that. "You don't have feelings for me, Arlo. You have feelings for Ivy. That's why you told her that you do." It was easier that way. That was what she was telling herself.

NH IK BA IS BA: Noah shook her head, quickly pulling away from Mia as she reached for his hand. He didn't want her to see him as weak . He didn't want her to think that he needed the comfort. Because he didn't. He was fine on his own. "I know that." He huffed, rolling his eyes. As though that wasn't what he had been thinking about. He was worried about his mum and his grandparents but he didn't want people knowing that. He thought that it was better that it was kept to himself. "Hey - listen." He muttered as he glanced over to the window. "I think the storm might be calming down.."

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I'll take your feet, you can have the rest of me." Nancy laughed, shrugging her shoulders. She moved so that she could sit next to Ivy, curling her feet up behind her. She had no idea how long it could be until they got home and she felt tired now, she wanted to be comfortable. "That must've been scary... Having a baby that young. And being the only one." She said quietly. And all of a sudden, everything that had been happening the past few weeks came to the forefront of her mind... The sickness, the mood swings, the tiredness, the missed period that she'd assumed was down to stress... Could it be? She felt sick again, but it wasn't morning sickness this time.

WM CJ MS AG NH: "I do, Iris. I do and I think I have for a long time..." Arlo sighed, shaking his head. "I don't have feelings for Ivy. I love her as my friend, but I - I said those things because I was drunk and she was talking to Cole and facing the other way and I thought she was you." He didn't know why Iris was so insistent that he didn't - was it that bad to imagine that he could have feelings for her, that he liked her? "I have feelings for you and I don't expect you to feel that way back for me, but you can't tell me that I don't because I do." He knew it now, more than he'd ever known anything - he had feelings for Iris. And he had done for a while.

WM CJ MS AG NH: Mia sighed softly as Noah pulled his hand away, but she didn't push it - they were all feeling on edge right now and she didn't think forcing her comfort on him was going to make anything better. She looked up as he spoke, nodding her head. "Finally..." She whispered, standing up so that she could look out of the window properly. "It's definitely getting lighter. You think they're going to send us an ambulance or something?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She didn't think they'd be able to get Ivy out of there without an ambulance, or at least a car - and they'd all drank too much to drive.

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NH IK BA IS BA: "Alright. Deal." Ivy nodded. She liked that they were, at least, able to make light of things in this situation. She thought that, that was a very good sign. At least they hadn't lost their sense of humour. There had to be something good in that, at the very least. Ivy shrugged her shoulders as Nancy spoke, "She had a lot of support." She muttered. "From my dad - my step dad, Caleb. And my uncle Johnny - You know him, right? I think he's seeing Iris' mum?" She asked, tilting her head a little as she looked at the other. Though when she saw the look on Nancys face, she instantly became worried, "Are you okay?" She asked her. She wasn't sure what it was that had happened but Nancy did not look happy.

NH IK BA IS BA: Iris shook her head as Arlo continued. She didn't want to hear this and she wished that he could see that. Hearing it meant that things had to change and she didn't want that. She was happy with how they were. Everything was fine the way that it was, why did it all have to change now? "If you don't want to hear it back then why the hell tell me in the first place? Why make it my problem, Arlo." She huffed, rolling her eyes. "I don't want things to change! You're my best friend. Why does it have to be more than that? Why do we have to talk about feelings and stuff? Because feelings change all the damn time. It doesn't - Just because we feel like this today - It doesn't - you don't have feelings for me." She said again, shaking her head. She knew how her sentence sounded. That it wasn't just a one sided thing but she had to let it be that. She couldn't let things change. She had watched her mum go through man after man, burning bride after bride and she wouldn't be that person. She couldn't.

NH IK BA IS BA: As Mia pulled away, Noah took another swig of his drink. He hated himself, a lot of the time. He knew that he was an asshole. And he knew that he didn't treat Mia the way that she deserved to be treated but he also didn't know what to do about it. He didn't feel like he could change his ways now. This was just who he was, he thought. This was how he was always going to be. "Guess it depends on how busy things are out there." He shrugged. A bunch of teens trapped in a building - he didn't know how high on the priority list that was going to be - though he figured it wouldn't be the bottom, at least.

#chatzy #london

[allthislove]

There’s a certain type of white woman that hates Meghan Markle on principle.

TW for su*c*de mention.

I said in the previous post that they hate that Meghan illustrates that white femininity is not the gold standard that they have been taught that it is. And this, in my opinion, is exactly what their problem is. And this is why I have no patience or sympathy or kindness for these women. It’s not a new phenomenon. I’ve seen it before in fandoms. The way a significant group of white fangirls hated and still hate Iris West on The Flash because she’s Black and is the love interest of the cute, white main character guy. They go out of their way to ship him with any white girl he knows, because they can’t wrap their head around him choosing a Black woman over them. They need to feel like their whiteness automatically makes them more desirable than any Black woman. Even when they are gorgeous and smart and wonderful like Meghan Markle or Candace Patton.

That’s all I see from these white women. I see obvious and transparent jealousy that, if they couldn’t have Prince Harry, it wasn’t another white girl they could project themselves onto. It was a Black girl (and in many of the British white women’s cases, an AMERICAN Black girl.) And yes, I know Meghan Markle is biracial, but that hardly seems to matter to white people. They don’t see someone who is white with them. They see tainted blood. The tragic mulatto stereotype. All they see is a Black girl who dared to sink her grubby paws into the Prince Charming they were told they were owed their entire lives. All they see is a street hoochie who saw dollar signs and isn’t good enough. An uppity n*gress who doesn’t know her place. 

I see it in the venomous way they say she “wants attention” every time she does or says anything. If she touches her baby bump, or says “It’s a girl!” on TV. It doesn’t matter that it’s the daughter of a prince, one of the most famous princes in the world, and it would be huge news that he was having a daughter no matter who his wife was. To them, the tainted negro children might as well not even be Harry’s. They’re Meghan’s, and she’s somehow awful for daring to birth them or even be happy about it.

It’s in the way they call a millionaire actress a “gold digger”, or say nonsense things like “she was a washed up actress before she met him” (She was STARRING ON A CABLE TV SHOW, which is a good enough job for Jennifer Aniston, but when it’s Meghan Markle, it’s “washed up.”) 

They say things like this, because they can get the benefit of the doubt and claim they don’t hate her because she’s Black. Because if they say that, they’d show their true colors. But they do.

Because all in all, she’s done nothing wrong. All in all, she’s just a woman who married a prince. ANY woman on Earth, including Beyonce and Taylor Swift, would get a profile and position boost from marrying into the British Royal Family. Again, it’s THE MOST FAMOUS ROYAL FAMILY ON EARTH. There are other royals, but most of the world doesn’t even know many of the other royals, unless they’re from those countries or just happen to be interested in royalty in general. EVERYONE knows Harry and Will. 

Kate Middleton was a veritable nobody when she married Will.

Meghan Markle was at least a pretty successful actress with a following of her own. And SHE’S the gold digger? It’s thinly veiled racist language. It’s the image of the ghetto Black woman pumping out babies to trap a man. It’s the idea that a Black woman can’t be worth anything on her own so she chases a rich man.

I mean, I know Priyanka isn’t Black, but similar things were said about her when she married Nick, and she’s PRIYANKA CHOPRA. She was already a huge Bollywood star. And again, it was white women leading conversations like this, because again, they were faced with the reality that white femininity is not the gold standard. That a South Asian woman could get their favorite heartthrob and they couldn’t, nor did a cute white girl they could project themselves on.

DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE “MEGHAN MADE KATE CRY” LIE! This is a prime example of the weaponization of white femininity to demonize Black people. Been going on for centuries and will continue to. Weaponizing tears is the white woman’s bread and butter, especially if it can be used to demonize a Black woman. “Oh, boo hoo, that brutish Black thing made sweet little fragile, porcelain white me cry!” And to find out it was the other way around and NOBODY in that family said anything and just let the “angry Black woman” take the heat? It’s sick. And it’s common. It happens all the time. Because white femininity is soft and fragile and innocent, and Black women are never afforded that.

Even light skinned, biracial Black women like Meghan Markle. White women still refuse to believe she even has feelings. Crazy old hags like Megyn Kelly straight up think she LIED in the interview about HOW SHE FELT, because white people can’t imagine a Black person having feelings! They think we all just make it up because we’re trying to make them look bad or something, or that we like pretending to be hurt by their racism simply to make them look bad. So they don’t have to feel remorse for the racist shit they do and say. For making a pregnant woman hate herself so much that she didn’t want to live. 

Like, we all know how bad hormones make people feel during pregnancy anyway. They can’t even believe that a pregnant woman who was being disparaged DAILY by the British tabloids ... felt sadness or hopelessness because of it? 

Like, it really seems like white people think Black people have no feelings.

IDK, I’m still angry and hurt for her. And like, I’m so sick of white women only being feminists when it benefits them. I’m so sick of the absolute vitriol they have for Black women all the time. I HATE how they see us as beneath them, in every situation. 

I really think these racist hags thought Harry would pick one of them. And when he picked someone not white, they couldn’t take it. 

We have to stop letting white women hide behind this “I’m a woman, so I’m oppressed” shit, when they know exactly how to weaponize white supremacy to benefit themselves. And I don’t think Black women should have to be nice about it. White women need to get it to-fucking-gether and cut this shit out. Because it’s PERVASIVE, and like, when it’s a fictional character it’s one thing, but they literally drove this REAL, HUMAN WOMAN TO THE BRINK and they STILL refuse to stop. Inhumane cretins. 

#Meghan Markle #harry and meghan #Prince Harry #racism #misogynoir #antiblackness #intersectional feminism #tw: sui mention #tw: suicide #tw: racism #meghan markle defense squad #white feminism

[derangedrhythms]

Do you have a collection of quotes denoting a devouring, undefeatable, ever-consuming passion?

"And I would wander across all the deserts of this world, even after death, to search for you—"

— Alejandra Pizarnik, Extracting the Stone of Madness; from ‘The Dream of Death, or The Site of the Poetical Bodies’, tr. Yvette Siegert

"It is too much to love this way. I need him near me every moment—more than near, inside of me."

"It is like a furnace when we meet."

— Anaïs Nin, from 'Henry and June'

"To say we were 'in love', that vague weakened phrase, cannot express it. We loved each other, we lived in each other, through each other, by each other. We were each other."

— Iris Murdoch, from 'The Sea, the Sea'

"...he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same..."

— Emily Brontë, from 'Wuthering Heights'

"No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh."

— Charlotte Brontë, from 'Jane Eyre'

"Do you know what I want of life? / That I can be with you, you, all of you, / and if life repeated a thousand times, / still you, you, and again, you."

— Forugh Farrokhzad, Asir (Captive); from ‘On Loving’, tr. Sholeh Wolpé

"Here I am back and smouldering with passion, like wine smoking. Not a passion any longer for flesh, but a complete hunger for you, a devouring hunger."

"…a love such as I have never had for another human being. Not one [...] You are my woman and I must have you all to myself and I shall never surrender you."

"Let us knit together, absolutely. Move into me [...] stay there, don’t ever move away from me, not in a single thought."

— Henry Miller, from 'A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin & Henry Miller 1932-1953'

"To stay with you for one night I would throw away my whole life, sacrifice a hundred persons, […] be capable of anything."

— Anaïs Nin, from 'A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin & Henry Miller 1932-1953'

"...I want someone who is fierce and will love me until death and know that love is as strong as death, and be on my side for ever and ever. I want someone who will destroy and be destroyed by me."

— Jeanette Winterson, from 'Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'

"Nothing gets as close as this / I’m hopelessly devoted"

— PJ Harvey, 'As Close As This'

"I love you like fury"

— Sylvia Plath, The Letters of Sylvia Plath Volume I: 1940–1956; from a letter to Ted Hughes, 1st October 1956

"There’s a thing between us, an awesome fucking thing, can you feel it? It burns. Meant to be. We were. Meant to be."

— Sarah Kane, Complete Plays; from 'Phaedra's Love'

"I can’t believe any body ever loved like this; nobody will again. We will burn love to death all our long lives…"

— Sylvia Plath, The Letters of Sylvia Plath Volume I: 1940–1956; from a letter to Ted Hughes, 10th October 1956

"She loved him with all her soul, with the ferocity and trembling ardor of fear; and he was more than a god to her, much closer to an idol whom she worshipped, without restraint and beyond all measure."

— Jens Peter Jacobsen, from 'Niels Lyhne', tr. Tiina Nunnally

"We electrified each other. We caught on fire and burned and burned and burned."

— Bakara Wintner, from ‘WTF is Tarot? ...& How Do I Do It?’

"…their love was a lifelong love, a love for all the lives they might ever have had."

— Helen Oyeyemi, from ‘Mr. Fox’

"somehow somehow somehow communicate some of the/overwhelming undying overpowering unconditional all-encompassing heart-enriching mind-expanding on-going never-ending love I have for you."

— Sarah Kane, Complete Plays; from 'Crave'

"brave love, dream / not of staunching such strict flame, but come, / lean to my wound; burn on, burn on."

— Sylvia Plath, Collected Poems; from ‘Firesong’

"I shall do one thing in this life – one thing certain – that is, love you, and long for you, and keep wanting you till I die."

— Thomas Hardy, from 'Far From the Madding Crowd'

#compilations #long post #passion

[kyovtani]

𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 | 𝒌𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒕𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒖

✗ pairing: kuroo tetsurou x female reader

✗ genre: smut, like just smut, lit nothing but smut; absolute filth but still classy so it's fílth anyway; established relationship!AU

✗ word count: 4.1k+

✗ warnings: swearing, heavy dumbification and degradation, mean/hard (to soft) dom!kuroo, DD/LG (d*ddy dom / little girl), mentions of jealousy and slight possessive behavior, orgasm denial, p*ssy slapping, some spanking, praising, ch*king, impregnation, some c*m play, car s*x, (a little bit of) cute aftercare

– A/N: Happiest Birthday to my fave scorpio boy in HQ!! This is an old fic of mine which I wrote about a year ago and as I thought about it, Kuroo does fit the concept really well and since I’m a little busy writing smth new, I thought why not reuse this big boy! I hope you guys enjoy this one and please feel free to leave feedback of any kind if you did!!

x all the love, zade.

✗ summary: your boyfriend is sweet, caring and oh so soft, so you decide it’s time to make him lose his composure...

It takes a lot to make Kuroo switch from his soft, caring demeanor to his hard dom persona because after everything, he remains a patient man.

He puts your pleasure above anything else; your body a temple for him to worship and take care of with every part of his being.

However, sometimes, no matter how much you love your sweet, loving boyfriend, you find yourself growing a little bored of his constant softness; your desires going further than just being choked and called kitten.

You want Kuroo to absolutely destroy you, to put it as simple as possible. The guttural desire to have him use you for his own pleasure, claim you in the most intimate ways possible and every now and then your body craves this certain type of pleasure; the one which lays pretty close to pure pain.

Led by your body’s deep desire, you find yourself seeking methods which might not be the morally right ones but at this point you struggle to care the slightest bit about morality.

You set Kuroo losing his composure as your goal, trying your very best without even overthinking the possible consequences and if that means that you have to let a random man flirt the living hell out of you right in front of your boyfriend (who happens to have slight possessive tendencies) during your weekly grocery shopping, then so be it.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Kuroo watches the blood boiling scene in front of him with his brows furrowed in pure anger; annoyance flooding his usually so soft and calm features and the more time passes, the angrier he gets.

However, Kuroo’s not a dom for nothing.

He keeps his cool, even lets you take the guy's number as he causally ignores the way that stupid fucker lookes at your ass like a fucking pervert, before the two of you eventually finish the shopping without Kuroo commenting on any of it.

At this point you’re just frustrated. Anger and irritation rush through your body at such a fast pace, you feel your head spinning the closer you get to the car and if it wasn’t for the fact that you’re currently in a public parking lot, you would have thrown a fit already.

Tired of Kuroo’s oblivion, you finally get yourself to gather every bit of composure you have left and turn around to just tell him about what the fuck you want when he suddenly pushes you against the car door, pressing his strong body into your back.

"What the fuck was that little scene supposed to be, hm, doll?", he hisses into your ear, his hot breath fanning your neck and just as usual you love the way his deep and almost unrecognizably raspy voice sends jolts of arousal through your whole body right into your core.

In an instant, you feel your cunt clenching in despair, drenching the fabric of your panties just like that and even though you’re very much aware of your surroundings, you can’t bring yourself to actually give a fuck.

"Good fuck dolls answer when they are being talked to", Kuroo grunts and pulls the lobe of your ear between his teeth, easily eliciting a sweet moan from you before he suddenly wraps his strong fingers around your throat. The cold metal of his rings builds the perfect contrast to the hotness of your skin and with another soft whine, you press your thighs together.

And then, as you gently throw your head back against his shoulder, Kuroo’s hand finds its way around your breast, quickly and incredibly harshly pinching your sensitive nipple between his fingertips to remind you of his – still unanswered – question.

"T-Tetsu, I just-", he doesn’t give you the opportunity to finish your sentence, casually tightening his grip around your throat and cutting off your air supply in one go.

"How the fuck dare you call me by my name right fucking now, you cockhrungy little slut?”, Kuroo’s voice is cold and distant; the anger and disappointment evident in every single one of his words and you can’t believe just how much your pussy starts spasming in response.

“You better address me correctly or last night was the last time you got to cum, did you fucking hear me?", he’s quick to add, the lack of oxygen in your body sending you even deeper into the beautiful haze of pleasure. You barely notice the way you start gasping gasping for air, your lids fluttering shut as you press your thighs even tighter together to get some kind of relief from the heavy pressure on your throbbing cunt.

"Y-Yes, Daddy", you whimper and push your forehead against the cold surface of the door, your body slowly but surely growing overwhelmed by the arousal heating you up.

And in the middle of it all, you’re still incredibly grateful for the lack of company due to the late time of the day because even though you enjoy this with every single pore in your body, you don’t want anyone else to see you like this.

Kuroo lets go of your throat, his hand wandering in between your legs and underneath the waistband of your shorts, just to suddenly cup your cunt. The feeling of his fingers pressing against the drenched fabric of your panties, his rough digits rubbing your needy  clit makes you let out a loud, throaty moan.

"Fucking whore", Kuroo curses, his lips so close to your ear, you feel yourself literally melting into a puddle of despair underneath his tall figure, "I can't believe you let that bastard flirt with you right in front of my eyes", he continues and sucks the skin of your neck into his mouth, sucking harshly before he harshly pulls it in between his teeth.

You whine again, constant mewls of frustration leaving your lips as you try your best to move your hips against his big hand, yet fail miserably.

"I should have fucked you right then and there just to show him who this slutty cunt belongs to", Tetsu groans, rubbing his hard erection against your ass but refusing to to move his fingers on your clit. His words and the pressure on your sensitive bundle of nerves has you moaning and without even trying to calm yourself down, you reach back to take a hold of Kuroo’s thick hair.

"You would have liked that, am I right, kitty cat? No, wait – you would have loved it. You're literally getting wetter and wetter just at the thought being fucked like a stupid whore", Kuroo scoffs, a hint of disbelief wavering in his voice and without missing a beat, you let out a sound of approval in response.

"I'm not even surprised", he hisses and suddenly, pulling his hand out of your shorts, "at the end of the day, you're nothing but a pathetic whore who thinks with her stupid cunt and nothing but her stupid cunt", and then he lets go of you.

His sudden absence leaves you tumbling against the door with a soft whimper and it's then that you notice the way your whole body is shivering from the overwhelming amount of arousal rushing through your system.

"D-Daddy, please", you whisper helplessly, using every single bit of your energy left to turn around and face him, "I need you", you add and can’t help the soft sob falling past your lips; two tears finding their way down your cheeks as you look into the beautiful face of your lover.

The strictness and distance in his features makes you gulp harshly, his usually so soft and calming eyes filled with nothing but hunger and anger and you let yourself devour this rare sight.

"Oh, look at that", Kuroo pushes his bottom lip into a fake pout with amusement sparkling in the pretty brown around his iris, "my little, cockcrazy whore thinks she has the right to even think about my cock after pulling a show like that”, he lets out a loud, empty chuckle, “how cute and oh, so pathetic, kitty.”

Kuroo takes your chin in between his fingers before he straightens his face and pushes his tongue against the inside of his cheek.

"Backseat", is all he grunts, "I guess I’ve been a bit too good to you. I haven't fucked some manners into you in some time, have I, pretty kitty?”, you look at him with big, teary eyes and your lips parted before you bring yourself to nod in response to his question.

“Is that why you keep acting up like some needy, filthy little whore? Do you want Daddy to treat you like this, hm? Because you know how much I hate disobedient kittens who flirt with other men, yet choose to do it anyway. Right in front of me, too."

His words stir something deep inside of you, your pussy clenching even harder around nothing as a strong jolt of arousal finds its way right into the pit of your stomach.

You have never been more turned on by anyone or anything and at this point you’ve completely forgotten your surroundings; Kuroo and his huge cock the only thing on your mind as you pull open the door to the backseat of his car.

Kuroo watches you carefully, his eyes roaming the sight of your shaky thighs and the damp spot on the grey material of your shorts before he gets himself to tear his gaze away from you, lifting his head and checking the mostly empty parking lot to make sure nobody is watching the two of you.

He doesn’t like doing it in public; the thought of being caught or watched is definitely alluring and tempting but usually followed by the image of it actually happening and a jolt of slight disgust washing over him.

However this time Kuroo is absolutely ready to make an exception because after remaining patient with you for so long, he knows he won’t be able to keep it up for the entire drive back home.

After making sure nobody is around – his habit of parking all the way at the very end of the parking lot no matter what coming as an advantage – Kuroo also makes his way into the backseat, his gaze instantly finding your glossy eyes before he takes in the oddly satisfying sight of your tear stained cheeks and pouty lips.

You look so vulnerable, so helpless, so pathetic – the thought of completely destroying you in every way possible quickly clouding his mind and the longer he looks at you, the more he just wants to fuck you into oblivion.

But again, Kuroo isn’t a dom for nothing.

With hooded eyes, he silently motions you to turn around, the urge to press your face into the seat taking over every bit of his brain.

You don’t hesitate and obediently move onto your stomach, pulling yourself up onto your knees as your eyes nervously roam the inside of his car.

Your heart is hammering against your rib cage at an unhealthy pace, adrenaline and arousal thrumming inside your ears and clouding your mind in the best way possible.

Oh how you love the effect he has on you.

"Take off your shorts and then finger yourself", Kuroo hisses, casually pushing his sweats as well as boxers briefs down his muscular thigh, exposing his thick, rockhard cock to the cold  yet tensed air in the car and letting out a soft hiss, "I want you to stretch that little cunt of yours", he adds and without even trying to hide it, you turn your head to watch the way Kuroo spits into his palm and then wraps his fingers around his cock.

You let out a loud, desperate moan at the sight of his huge length; the tip red and angry, already leaking so much precum, you feel your mouth watering at the memory of his taste coating your tongue. You gulp harshly the longer you watch him stroke his length like that, your pussy clenching in despair at the mere thought of how good he fills you up.

You hear the loud sound of skin meating skin before a harsh pain starting from your inner thigh rushes through you; a choked out whimper leaving your lips before you can literally feel your ears perking up at the sound of Kuroo’s voice.

"If I have to repeat myself one more fucking time, I swear to God, I won't let you cum for a whole month, kitty", Tetsurou growls, an almost inaudbile moan following his threat and after mumbling a soft apology, you're quick to get rid of your shorts and underwear just as you were told.

You bend your body down and spread your legs, only to feel waves of embarrassment and shame in combination with heavy, hot arousal overwhelming you.

Kuroo has the perfect view on your spasming cunt and you know he is basically devouring you with his eyes, your head spinning at the thought.

"Oh, kitty", he sighs and picks up the pace of his hand, focusing on his tip every now and then to slightly edge himself because even though he usually manages to hide it really well, this whole situation has him a lot more worked up than he had expected.

And now that he actually got to see how much his change in demeanor and choice of words have gotten to you, he is more than just  struggling to keep his cool composure.

Kuroo can’t help but think of the way your slick arousal tastes and feels on his tongue, your sweet moans filling his ears as you part those pretty lips of yours in pleasure.

Kuroo watches the way you slide two of your fingers through your glistening folds, collecting your own juice before aiming for your sensitive, hardened little clit and as soon as you press the tips of your digits against the bundle of nerves, both of you let out a loud moan.

"Don't forget about that tight hole of yours, baby", Tetsurou grunts, throwing his head back as he curses himself for slipping out of his persona even if it wasn't for longer than a second.

You whimper at the sound of your favorite pet name falling past those pretty, swollen lips and choke on that exact whimper when you insert both of your fingers into the warm walls of your cunt.

"That's right, just like that, you little slut", Kuroo’s quick to comment, his other hand pushing the material of your (his) oversized shirt up to reveal the soft flesh of your ass before spanking you softly and then digging his fingers into your skin, "even though your fingers are nothing compared to my cock, we don't want you to to get hurt, right?", and again, he finds himself quickly regretting his choice of words and lack of authority.

But he can't help it. You’re his perfect, sweet faced little angel girl after all; there’s no way he can completely abandon his soft, caring side no matter how bratty you become. Not even thinking about giving you a chance to respond, he reaches out and plants another harsh spank on your slightly sore ass.

You muffle a loud whimper, burying your face in your arm as you try to keep your noises down in hopes of getting to hear the sinful moans of your Daddy; however, Kuroo is quick to notice your little plan.

"You're really trying it tonight, huh, you fucking cumslut? You better start moaning or I'm about to get really, really mad and believe me, you do not want that", Kuroo scolds you, his hand leaving your ass and wrapping around the one buried between your legs before he starts helping you thrust your fingers into your wet pussy.

Kuroo watches the way you clench around your digits with his lips parted in pleasure and arousal tingling at the bottom of his spine and if it wasn't for the punishment he has in mind, he would have fucked your pretty pussy.

Your loud moans, high pitched whimpers and desperate whines start filling the small space of his expensive car, making it even harder for him to stay collected and as he slowly observes the way your thighs slowly start shaking, he pulls your hand away from your drenched cunt with a deep grunt.

"Let's go over the rules really quick, kitty", Kuroo sighs and pulls you to stand on your knees, making sure you don't hit your head  before he pushes you against the back of the passenger seat.

Your head is spinning at an inhumane space and you don’t even know if you can form proper sentences especially at the feeling of Kuroo’'s hot tip prodging at your entrance. However the slap against your sensitive pussy manages to pull you back to reality rather in an instant.

"Green means good, o-orange stands for okay, slightly uncomfortable and r-red is the signal for you to stop, Daddy", you whisper, burying your face in back of the passenger seat’s head part as Kuroo slowly starts pulling you down onto his lap, making you sick onto his big cock painfully slowly.

"Keep it going, you're not done yet, kitty. Come the fuck on, stop disappointing me like this", he groans and throws his head back, the sudden urge to feel your lips on his and your tongue in his mouth making his mind go absolutely empty.

His words ring in your head, your mind foggy and sight slightly blurry as he finally bottoms out and knocks the breath out of your lungs just like that.

You try to stay focused, knowing and very well aware of his order but the feeling of his pulsing cock inside of your tight pussy, tip right against the entrance of your womb has you going mad crazy.

"One tap, if I can't breathe, a pinch if it hurts and two if I want you to stop", you finally manage to mumble and  the moan that leaves your lips when Kuroo slowly starts pulling out of you at those words – is almost animalistic.

"I'd love to praise you but you did make me wait and you actually have the pleasure to feel my cock even after all that shit, so", Kuroo’s voice is slightly strained, your tight walls gripping his huge cock like a vice and no matter how many times he got to experience this feeling, he knows he’s never going to get used to it.

You start moaning shamelessly, not even able to close your mouth as Kuroo rams himself back into you and then finally picks up a steady rhythm. Your fingers dig into the fabric of the seat, face buried in the headrest as you let him use you like a doll.

You love the way Kuroo’s grunts grow louder, his thrusts more impatient and the grip in your hips painfully tight; you love the fact that he is enjoying this as much as you were.

But then, out of nowhere, you realize how quiet he has been ever since he has started fucking you.

Dirty talk is something Kuroo has alway been really into, the lewd words falling past his lips so easily and managing to rile you up every time, that you haven’t even noticed how much you miss it.

"D-Daddy", you moan and gulp harshly, your hand reaching behind you to wrap your fingers around his, "t-talk to me, please", you ask softly and spare a quick glance at your lover; his astonishing beauty sending jolts of warmth through your chest.

Kuroo tsks, a loud scoff leaving his lips before he rolls his eyes and keeps thrusting into you. He is absolutely obsessed with the way your cunt spasmed around his cock, the sight of his huge length disappearing inside of your tight hole edging him more and more.

"P-Please, Daddy", tears flood your eyes rather quickly, the pleasure making you incredibly emotional and the tight feeling in your chest looking for relief as you softly sob into your arm, "I need you to talk to me, please; I'm sorry for acting like a whore", you cry and throw your head back, a choked out sob-moan leaving your throat and even though Kuroo does enjoy the way you are literally falling apart on his cock, he hates seeing you cry like that.

"P-Please call me your pretty girl and t-tell me how much you – fuck – love my cunt, please", you beg shameslessly, the tears streaming down your cheeks and leaving hot trails behind and despite the guilt inside your chest, you slowly start coming closer to your relief; the taste of your upcoming high coating your tongue in the sweetest way possible.

"Ssh, baby", Kuroo finally lets go of his hard mask, his chest tightening with every one of your soft cries and even though he knew he'd break at some point, he still had hoped to keep it up a little longer than usual, "it's okay pretty girl, I got you. I'm here, kitten", he whispers and as his soft voice fills your ears, a loud sob leaves you, followed by a tiny moan when his fingers start drawing circles into your neglected clit.

"Come on, angel, I want you to cum", he places a soft kiss on the back of your hand before he starts thrusting into you even harder, "show me who this sweet cunt belongs to", your lover's oddly assuring words are the last straw and without another second passing by, you let go and feel the coil in your core snap; shoving you head first into your high.

Several waves of pleasure hit you, your orgasm literally ruining you to a point where you struggle to take proper breaths.

Kuroo helps you ride out your high by slowing down the movements of his hands and hips, his breath getting stuck in his throat as he tries to handle your constant clenching.

"Cum inside of me, Daddy", you whisper, exhaustion dripping from every single one of your words yet you still let out soft little whimpers to encourage your pretty faced boyfriend, "want you to fuck your baby into my belly", you add quickly and the way literal innocence is coating your voice is what throws Kuroo over the edge.

Your cunt continues to spasm around him, making sure he cums as hard as you did and then, after his whole body halts its movements, he cums inside of you; painting your warm walls in several shades of white.

Kuroo quickly pulls out of you, the loss of contact and sudden feeling of emptiness has you whimpering slowly but you instantly go silent when he pulls you into his arms, pushing your face into the sweaty crook of his neck before he slowly starts caressing your naked thighs and massages your scalp.

A couple of minutes pass by, the exhaustion overcoming the two of you and when Kuroo notices the way your lips grow heavier by the minute, he presses his lips against yours and pulls you into a passionate kiss. A lazy clash of teeth, your tongue slowly entering his mouth and of course he is quick to swallow your spit, making you whimper into his mouth.

"Please don't ever do that again, my love", he whispers against your parted lips, his thumb grazing your cheeks and then your neck, "if you want me to be hard on you, there's no need to flirt with other guys, you just have to tell me, okay? You know I will do anything to make you happy", he mumbles and you quickly reply with a soft hum of approval.

"I love you, Daddy", you sigh, burying your face in his chest as your lips stretch into a big smile when you hear him mumble, "I love you, too, pretty girl."

#haikyuu!! #haikyuu #haikyuu smut #hq!! smut #haikyuu!! smut #haikyuu x female reader #haikyuu x reader #kuroo smut #kuroo x reader #kuroo tetsurou smut #haikyuu scenarios #kyovtani

[sems-diarie]

my darling told me to write something for this all this useless affection i’ve got in me rn.

“Kiss me.”

“What?” Katsuki is looking at you. He’s looking at you and his eyes are wide and his shoulders are dropped—surprise, you determine. Not disgust. Surprise.

“Are you—did I fucking stutter?” That time you did.

“What,” he barks again at your confrontational tone. His entire body turns to you, shoulders strung up and tense. Why are you like this? All bark, all bark, all bark.

“Have I told you how pretty you look tonight?” You’re only half joking.

His eyes narrow. The glare is offended, appalled at your audacity. His voice is scratchy when he speaks, deep and rumbles with each syllable. “Why would I—what makes you think—,”

“You’ve been staring at me all fucking night,” you admit to your perceived lack of attentiveness. The weight of Katsuki’s gaze is so heavy, burning red smolders into the soft plush of your skin. Your soul is no match against the prickling and plucking of his gaze. All of you is steaming, buzzing with energy.

“I’ve been staring at you,” another admission. But he probably already knew that. “We’re here,” you gesture to the secluded area, ways away from the rest of the festival. “—alone. You lead me here. Fucking kiss me or never talk to me again I literally cannot handle this—,”

“Shut up,” he snaps. “You talk too much—that’s you’re fucking problem.”

“You’re a coward,” you snap back. “You’re a coward and you think it’ll hurt if I touch you for too long and you think I’ll forget how good you were before this.”

You shove a finger at him, squinting with the burning urge to prove your own rightness. “You like that I idolize you—,”

Katsuki’s mouth curls into a snarl. Even in the dark like this, on the edge of a forest with the after glow of the fair pouring over you so faintly, his eyes are so red, small rings of ruby iris. His face is so sharp. And all of these things make him so pretty. “Nobody likes being put on a pedestal.”

“You dream about me.” You step closer. The leaves crunch beneath your feet. “If you don’t think that’s your subconscious telling you, you like me, then you’re a fucking idiot.”

“I dream about All Might,” he counters, seething probably because you weren’t supposed to know that. You aren’t supposed to know he dreams about you, and that he looks at you for too long, and that he brought you here because he knows the lights can irritate your eyes, and that he’s with you right now because it’s so fucking easy to be—the banter, the targeted insults, the familiarity of being equally difficult. The commonality of the villain and his equally villainous rival.

But you do know, part in intuition and half in that you’re overly observant and most in that none of his friends can keep their mouths shut.

“That doesn’t mean I wanna kiss him.”

“You are the worst.”

“Fuck you.” But he steps closer. Closer and closer and closer until he’s so close you have to tip your chip up to look at him. It should be daunting, having a man tower over you like this. But it’s Bakugou.

“Give yourself to me,” you demand, one final time. In between the pitch black of the whispering trees and the path back to the center of the crowd set aglow with artificial light. A hand on his chest, the thrill of his beating heart kissing your palm.

Katsuki is too tall to reach like this, so you slide your hands up to his jaw, slide your fingertips over his cheeks and into the lower end of his hair that brushes over his neck. He’s too far away to reach like this, so you pull him down to you. Pull him through the mighty, golden clouds of Olympus and into the tenderness of your palms. Slow. Careful. He moves with the guidance of your hands, leans over exactly the way you string him.

“I just want to be soft for you,” you whisper. Your nose nudges his, brushes along his cheek.

“Can I do that?” You hum, watching the red glow of his eyes lower and his jaw fall slack. His forehead meets yours and the gentle knock of it makes all the riot in you fall silent. “Will you be nice to me?”

Katsuki is a lot stronger than you gave him credit for—and even that is a lot. The way he scoops you up in his arms is slow, and it’s powerful. He curves your entire body into his, bends you backward with the weight of his lips on yours. His mouth is warm when it’s covers yours. His hands are firm on you, palms addicted to pressing along the way you curve. His hair is soft between the playful squeezes of your fingers.

Then, Katsuki is walking you backward, pressing you against the hard wood of a tree. His hands pull away from you and his arms come up to cage you in. He doesn’t stop kissing you, doesn’t stop moaning when he pulls your tongue into his mouth. He’s still a man, red blooded and heightened with emotion and here you are proclaiming you’ll swallow it all down. He’ll swallow you.

#girl i listened to a killing stalking playlist while writing this good fkn bye #and some frank ocean too #s’so late huh #i like this a little i think #katsuki.🧁 #katsuki bakugou #katsuki bakugō #bakugou x y/n #bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou x y/n #katsuki bakugou x you #bakugou katsuki x y/n #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou katsuki x you #bnha x reader #bnha x y/n #my hero academia reader insert #my hero academia x reader #bnha.🧁

[moononastring]

I hate to be that person but can you please do all 30 for Eris and Iris I love those idiots so much

I wanted to say I hate you but WHO AM I KIDDING. I love talking about my idiots <3 1) Who rocks the Ferris Wheel seat and who flips out and begs them to stop?

Eris that piece of shit and Iris is ready to throttle him. He just wants an excuse to have her come closer and god forbid he asks like a normal person.

2) Who is always horny and will have sex at any time, at any place and at any time?

Eris. This guy is like...always ready to go. Not that Iris minds at all because oof, does he enjoy giving it to her.

3) Who is more into taking showers/baths together? Who tries to make it relaxing and who tries to make it sexy time?

Iris! She really enjoys relaxing in the bath together and this is a weird luxery Eris had never thought to take advantage of? Most of the time, they will actually relax but uh, Eris does love to make it sexy.

4) Who likes to walk around the house naked and who tells the other to go put some clothes on?

Eris. This dude doesn't care. Iris tried it once to tease him but Eris simply got turned on 😌so instead, she layers up as much as possible.

5) Who sleeps on the couch when they get into a fight?

Eris lol. By choice but also, he knows if even tries to get near her after a fight she'll turn into a feral little cat (and not the sexy kind lol).

6) Who takes photos of the other while they sleep?

Eris is obsessed with taking pictures of Iris but what he doesn't know, is that Iris takes so much more of him. Especially because he's most relaxed when he's sleeping and she loves to stare him. She will never admit to this ofc.

7) Who said “I love you” first? and who ends their arguments in a fight with “Because I love you”?

...I feel like this is a spoiler. So. I'm not going to answer it LOL. You tell me who you think will say "I love you" first 😏

Eris definitely ends the fights with "because I love you" and even though Iris will be mad at him, she softens.

8) Who likes to wear the others sweatshirts?

Iris steals his clothes all the time, sweatshirts included. Eris has impeccable style so yo girl is always stealing something.

9) Who wakes the other up in the middle of the night to tell them a cool dream they had? Who has the most nightmares, and who sings them back to sleep after?

Iris wakes Eris up to tell him about her cool/nonsense dreams. He always blinks sleepily at her and says, "That's nice." before suffocating her in a cuddle and falling right back to sleep. Eris has the most nightmares between the two of them and Iris helps sooth him back to sleep.

10) Who is more likely to cheat?

Neither. It took way too long for either of them to find someone to trust, love, and care for to fuck it up by cheating. Besides, nobody can compare for either of them.

11) Who makes fun of the other for having a crush on them, and who has to remind them that they are in a relationship?

Eris does this ALL THE TIME and she just rolls her eyes. Her default response is: "I'm not sure where this hallucination came from but I don't like anything about you."

12) Who starts a food fight in the kitchen?

Eris, being a giant dickhead flicks something he shouldn't have at her. She makes him clean it all up.

13) Who initiates duets? and who is the better singer?

They don't really sing. At least not in a serious way. But karaoke? Hell yeah. Iris always initiates it and drags Eris's reluctant ass into it.

14) Who starts the hand-holding? Who grabs the other's butt? Who slides their arm around their waist? Who likes to put their fingers in the belt loops?

Y'all know how horny they are for hand-holding at this point lol. Iris initiates the hand-holding the first time then Eris will literally never let go. He is always patting her butt or pinching it even when she swats his hand away, the asshole just smirks it off. Iris likes to slide her arm around his waist as a way to be closer to him. In terms of putting their fingers in the belt loops...they both do. Depending on the situation, it will be a signal that something naughty this way comes 😏

15) Who likes writes the others name on their wrist?

Eris does it to Iris to tease her that she's "his". The first time this happens, he woke up the next morning to find that she'd written her name all over his body in lipstick (his back, his neck, his arms, his face). He appreciated it all very much until he saw that she wrote "Iris's Bitch" on his forehead.

But in all seriousness, when he's feeling mushy but doesn't want to say it, he'll write his name and add a heart. When he's being silly, he draws a penis. (He's a child).

16) Who is more seductive when they are drunk? and who is louder in bed?

Iris. Eris is a real real cuddly drunk but Iris is suddenly way too comfortable and will try to seduce the pants off of him. Which...doesn't require much.

Between the two...I'd say Eris. He's definitely more vocal of the two. I will say no more lol.

17) Who is more protective?

Eris. He has no issues literally fucking anybody up when it comes to Iris. Even though he knows she can handle herself and trusts her to do so, he can't help it. He's seen enough shit happen to his loved ones.

18) Who talks to the other while they are sleeping?

Iris talks to Eris. Sometimes she does it because she can't sleep and sometimes she does to bother him. But sometimes, she just does it because she's nervous to talk about certain things while he's awake.

19) Who drives and who has the window seat?

Eris is the driver and Iris is the one with her head out of her window seat.

20) Who falls asleep in the others lap and who carries them to bed?

Iris falls asleep in Eris's lap all the time and he's always ready to carry her to bed. On the flip side, he has definitely fallen asleep with his head in her lap but rather than go to bed, they end up curling together on the couch.

21) Who cuts the other's hair?

Eris lets Iris give him a trim but no more...it would not end well LOL.

22) Who is super bad at sexting? and who sends them encouraging messages throughout the day?

At first, Iris is not great at sexting. She feels awkward and Eris is so dirty lol. She can barely keep up. But soon...the student surpasses the master and boy is Eris in for a ride.

As for encouraging messages, they both this for each other. Once they commit to each other, they commit. They are that couple.

23) Who thinks they are not good enough for the other's love? and who’s more afraid of losing the other? Who thinks they keep messing up, only for the other to tell them they don’t need to worry?

I definitely think Eris doesn't think he's good enough for Iris's love while on the other side, Iris struggles with the idea of losing him. They both are idiots who constantly think they're fucking up when in reality, they're two sides of the same coin and will be fine.

24) Who starts random slow dancing with the other in the kitchen? Who holds the other just above the ground and kisses them?

Iris starts the slow dancing. She kinda just walks up to him and smiles, pulling him in for a dance. Eris always takes her up on it. My dude is always happy to lift her for kisses but dip her back for them too.

25) Who says shitty puns and sex jokes just to see the other giggle and blush?

Eris is the worst. He definitely says as many shitty puns and sex jokes as possible to get her blushing.

26) Who kissed first?

...SPOILER. I will not answer ✌🏼

27) Who orders take out at two in a morning? and who wakes the other up at three in the morning to go downstairs with them to get a glass of water because it’s too dark?

Iris is both of these people. Eris doesn't understand why she can't eat take-out at a normal hour but will still stuff his face with her. She always drags him along with her to get water if it's too dark and he's allowed to poke her butt as much as he wants since she forced him to wake up.

28) Who writes poems/stories and love songs about the other? Do they sing the songs the write for them?

Neither of them really! Iris writes terrible poems that have no rhyme to get a laugh out of him but that's about it.

29) Who does some crazy stunt to try and impress the other and who ends up driving them to the emergency room after it backfires?

Eris is the idiot doing something crazy to impress Iris and she's the one who drives him to the emergency room, furious. She's so busy being mad at him, she forgets to worry until the doctor tells her he's fine. Then, she starts crying and punching him. It's fine that he's injured, he still deserves it.

30) Who is embarrassed when they have to wear their glasses and who thinks they look super cute?

Eris is embarrassed when Iris sees him wearing glasses for the first time even though he's rocking them. He doesn't realize what it does to her and Iris goes out of her way to make him wear them so she can call him adorable as many times as she wants.

thank you for asking about my babies <3333

#eris vanserra #eris x oc #eris x iris #eiris headcanons #smtb #smtb asks #'nonnie #asks #wow this took so long lmao

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

#cyclops #scott summers #the mutants #monica rambeau #X-men #xmen #marvel #MCU #fancast #jharrel would actually be a better sunspot #but you get the point #my man would have OPTIONS

[daddywright]

I have only recently got into the ace attorney fandom, and this story was the first story I read, and I feel spoiled! I absolutely loved every chapter, so I'm gonna word vomit here and tell you everything I love about this!

"She offers him a smile. It’s small, tentative, but it possesses a strength that makes a hidden part of him twist and burn with quiet envy." the first time we see nick's wish to be as strong as mia!

Considering the fact that nick didn't have any prominent figure in his life, it makes sense that he would look up to gregory so much

"Phoenix looks up, and starts walking towards Mia Fey

He doesn't stop for two years."

THE RELATIONSHIP THAT MIA AND NICK HAD WAS PRECIOUS AND DESERVES MORE THAN WHAT THE FANDOM GIVES THEM

"Larry’s arms wrap around him, squeezing almost too tight" People forget that Larry and Phoenix were good friends too, and Larry would help his best friend

"Nobody believed him, nobody but Mia" Maya is what Phoenix is to Mia and I adore that

"He wishes, desperately, that he’d said it while she was still alive. I loved you. For everything you did." Not you absolutely breaking my fucking heart

Also the first AA game felt unnatural in the sense of how seemingly unaffected Phoenix seemed at Mia's murder so I'm really glad you wrote it this way

"Expensive. Thoughtful. Too much." SHUT UP NICK YOU DESERVE ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING

Also quick break to mention how I absolutely fucking love your writing style and i wish I was literally half as talented as you cuz the last time I read something that made me feel this multitude of emotions was ocean vuong. And I practically worship Ocean Vuong. So now I worship you too

"You're a stranger to me // When will I stop hoping?" I never really realised just how badly nick musta been hurt by good ol' bratworth before this fic, but now that I have read it, it would have hurt him so bad

"Is this why you never answered my letters? Because I was a reminder? Because it hurt too much?" Honestly what happened to miles and phoenix's friendship hurts so much because it should have never happened, and miles didn't deserve that.

"Maybe Miles Edgeworth is not the man he thought he’d be, either." yo when I tell you this hurt I mean this huRT

Fun fact! My birthday is on the same day as DL-6 anniversary. Gregory Edgeworth died on my birthday. I feel horrible now

"monster. You were nine years old and he's a monster. " No one has made me feel this much emotion for what happened to Miles in a single sentence other than you. I commend you for that

"I love you," he says quietly. He has never said those words to anyone, except for Dahlia Hawthorne.

Maya sniffs in his ear, crushing him tight. "I love you, too."

He has never heard them back.

PHOENIX HAS NEVER HEARD THE WORDS " I LOVE YOU" COME BACK TO HIM ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME WHY NOW I'M SAD

"Tell me everything. Every detail—" Miles is worried bout nick and why wouldn't he? gods you're so gay miles but tbf if I knew someone like nick irl i'd go ballistic too

"He determined the motive for his own assault...with amnesia. Naturally." My man's smart af and he is king

"Is that what she thinks of me? That I'm like that? That I don't care about who the bad guys really are?" Gumshoe noooo you're hella precious! Also this particular chapter was so well written! loved this soo much!

Also taking a minute to appreciate the pacing! Rarely do I ever come across an author who just hits that sweet spot of perfect pacing and you did! so thank you!

Alright so here are a few thoughts that I felt capcom needed to do which you did for us!

no. 1 - Address the trauma phoenix faced with not only dahlia but also with mia's death

no. 2 - Actually fucking flesh out a good relationship dynamic between larry and phoenix

no. 3 - actually! have! phoenix! be hurt! in bridge to turnabout! istg my man would not have dropped from a burning bridge to a freezing river only to have a cold

AUNT FRANZY AND PEARLS MAN!

THEY CUTE

ok so I have a LOT of feelings for bridge to turnabout and HOO BOY BUCKLE UP

So I always thought that in this fic, miles must have felt fucking awful! I mean he very clearly hates who he was and what that has led to but that must have been doubled over with this case! Phoenix would have died if not for mia and it would have been indirectly miles's fault. I think about that alot

Like he said that he very much regrets whatever he did as bratworth in the phone call with gumshoe but i don't think he anticipated this. poor edgeworth

Also I think this was the final nail in the coffin for miles. Phoenix forgave him, after all the fucked up shit miles did, and that made that man go "how is this guy so fucking compassionate awwwww shit I'm in fucking love with this idiotic brave man".

my main thoughts were "holy shit phoenix must have been feeling awful." like to learn that you were in love with a person who turned out to be a murderer but then not a murderer cuz everything you felt about that was real and just...... it must have hurt. He never fell in love with dahlia. it was iris, always. and WHAT ABOUT MILES DURING THIS!!! Like to learn that the man you love was falsely led to believe that he was in love with a person he rarely met and then learn that his ex who is not murderous might still be in love with him because "that was real. that part was real." like damn. people just gloss over this

also I feel terrible for iris F in the chat for iris lads.

Dahlia literally haunting that courtroom scene. I felt mia's power. I felt her desperation. I felt everything and I am once again in awe of the absolute power your writing holds.

also godsdamn pearls had to go through all that shit huh. also FRANMAYAAAAAA THANK YOUUUU

I too, am a hoe confused as to what I should feel towards diego.

Ok anyways we jump to disbarment now

"He just winks at her and says Maya has other talents, and if Mystic Maya overhears, she puffs up at him like the fish from the aquarium she saw once, the one with all the spikes and silly eyes."

you know what constantly amazes me? your ability to change tones so effortlessly. When writing from edgey's pov, the language is sophisticated. precise. when writing from pearly's pov your language is simplistic, child-like. from phoenix's pov it's natural. grounded

"She never knew anybody who made faces like him, growing up in Kurain, and it’s one of the things that makes him special." Yo phoenix is the most amazing uncle ever and we all know it ok he's brilliant

I'M RUNNING OUT OF CHARACTER LIMITS

PEARLY CALLING EDGEY AT FIRST SIGN OF TROUBLE I'M SOFFFFTTTT

“I think I did something really bad." trucy baby no it's not your fault

pearl and trucy bonding supremacy. my girls would fuck shit up

"She’d meant to do this properly, one day." Thank you for giving importance to maya's feelings. thank you for treating her like a real human being. thank you

“Everything that happened...for what? It’s only gotten people hurt. Pearly. Our mother.” Me. Me." I felt so bad for maya here. I wish I could tell you in precise words about how this exact framing of the sentence is what broke me. "me. me" maya deserved more, but mia did all she could

"What do scared kids need? ...Food." not you breaking my godsdamn heart again. phoenix just knows what's it like being a helpless child, and he'll be damned if he ever lets anyone face that again

“‘Course, Pearls,” he says reflexively, before frowning. “What for?” reflexively. if every man in the world could be like phoenix wright then the world would be worthy of the gods

"Another one?" give it 2 years edgey she'll be your daughter too

"after countless hours creating the man’s living space in his mind from the background snatches he’d seen in the man’s ridiculous video calls." NOT ONLY DO THEY VC FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON BUT ALSO MILES ACTUALLY SPENDS TIME TRYING TO RECREATE HIS ROOM?? BECAUSE HE WOULD ONE DAY LIKE TO BE IN IT??? good gods these bitches gay. good for them

"because just as day is light and night is dark, Phoenix Wright is an honorable man." damn straight. you love to see it (it being a 27+ year old man pining for another 27+ year old man)

also hey miles! how do you feel about the fact that the man you love changed his fucking major and degrees halfway through college just so he could see you again only for you to be incredibly rude to him and make him end up in jail! (i bully edgeworth cuz i love him)

"Wright finishes, shrugging like it’s nothing, like his commitment and belief isn’t the most extraordinary thing that Miles has ever faced." it's more than pining at this point. it's incredible faith and trust. Miles had someone who cared about him even after all those years despite him having changed so drastically, ofc he would be surprised. Miles loves phoenix and so do i.

also HOT DAMN YOU WRITING IS JUST * MWAH *

Also the whole segment where they kiss is just !!!!! miles wants! it's beautiful! THEY'RE IN LOVEEE

receiving poisonous bottles which your ex tried to kill you with. My man can't get a break huh

Miles being chivalrous and protective and absolutely stealing my godsdamn heart (and phoenix's too)!

Klavier being the absolute king that he is we stan

The hostage situation section? gods miles must have been terrified.

Phoenix not being able to promise pearly that he'd always come back home and miles hearing it and like... ouch. my heart. you didn't need to do that (but i love your for it)

GODS THE CLIMAX WITH KRISTOPH WAS SOOO SATISFYING AND LIKE MY MAN PHOENIX REALLY PUNCHED THAT BITCH HUH

klavier baby I am so sorry

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL!

and thus my comment ends. I believe I have almost used up all of my commenting limits and i leave with these few parting words : HOLY SHIT YOUR AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU!

also I made a playlist on spotify for this fic! here's the link : https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3k8lRHiO8ZXQDLpiTUL7SN?si=fc3b35b4ab064867

gods this was long huh

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY....WHERE DO I BEGIN...THE FACT THAT YOU BROKE THE CHARACTER LIMIT ON AO3 AND MADE A PLAYLIST? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?

thank you so much for all the amazing things you said....i am crying on a Wednesday morning knowing my writing was appreciated this much. thank you!

#ask tag #long post #my fic #nymphietonkslupin

[cheryls-blossomed]

How is letting the timeline deal with Thawne make Team Flash guilty of "killing" him? Letting him fade out of existence is some form of self defense. It has to be. Joe should know that. Because guess what? If he comes back and I think he's supposed to in the back half of season 8, whoever is his next victim is going to blame Barry. Is it better to have new victims and never get justice for the previous ones? Not every villain can be saved or should be. Thawne and Damien could have held hands to fade away together and we move on to a new big bad.

They’re not actively killing him, and honestly, other than maybe Caitlin who is a doctor (Thawne was arguably her patient because he was brought to the facility that she supposedly practices medicine in, but even that might be a stretch in terms of Thawne being her patient), they bear zero responsibility for his death for omitting to act. Thawne caused his own impending demise by screwing up the timeline the way that he did, so it’s not like anyone on Team Flash caused him to fade from the timeline. Like it’s not their job to save him.

Idk why Allegra was like, “You save people,” like girl what does that have to do with Thawne in this situation. And the narrative knows it’s stupid as fuck, because literally nobody was providing solid arguments as to why Thawne should be saved.

Joe yelling at Barry and Iris for knowing that the best course of action is to let Thawne fade from the timeline is absurd.

On top of that, the show pretending like the characters had made an informed decision when what actually happened was Joe forcing Barry and Iris into having no other choice by giving them an ultimatum was absurd.

And honestly? I don’t doubt that Thawne might try to target the West-Allen kids soon enough. So, like… Barry and Iris were absolutely right, their family is never safe when this man is still around. Idk what Joe was even thinking, honestly.

#anonymous #replies

[chironshorseass]

29 and 30 fluff for perachel or percabeth? Hehe I like both ships don’t @ me. Love your writing btw!

I kinda managed to do both...kinda lol. This was fun to do :) Sorry in advance for the bad puns.

writing prompts

“Detention? Again?”

“Look, I can explain.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and sat back on her bed, too tired to stand up and listen to what Percy had to say, most likely.

“Sure you can.”

They’d been Iris Messaging for a few minutes now. Percy, exhausted from a day of school and homework, had taken the first chance off to fish out a drachma from his drawer and call one of the people he’d missed most since the summer.

It had slipped his mind that New York and San Francisco had different time zones. But luckily, Annabeth was still awake. He’d found her in her bedroom, curls pulled into a messy bun and eyebrows scrunched up in concentration as she read some textbook, still studying for the exam she’d talked about a week ago.

Despite her initial complaints about Percy interrupting her, he knew that she didn’t mind.

“So?” she asked, bringing him back to the present.

She pulled her legs under her and stared at him expectantly.

He blinked. “Huh?”

She raised an eyebrow, and Percy thought—in the back of his mind—that she looked unfairly pretty. At night, with the fairy lights illuminating her hair and her face, like an angel.

“Why’d you get detention?”

“Oh. That.”

“Yes, Seaweed Brain. That.”

“Uhm…” Percy scratched the back of his neck. “It’s kind of a funny story, I um…”

“Spit it out.”

Now that he thought about it, maybe he shouldn’t have said anything at all. Maybe he should’ve thought this through, to avoid any arguments. Or confrontations. Or another cold shoulder. They weren’t as awkward now that the school year had started, but the mention of her always put Annabeth on edge, anyway.

“You see, I was with, uh...Rachel.”

He paused, noticing the way she gripped her textbook tighter, slightly wrinkling the pages.

Why did I think this was a good idea? Stupid.

“I was with Rachel, and she sort of, um...” he laughed nervously, already cringing. “Made a bet?”

Technically, he’d made the bet. But that wasn’t important for Annabeth to know.

/

Chemistry, in Percy’s opinion, was the most boring class Goode had to offer. Useless. Irrelevant.

Confusing, most of all.

At least he was partners with Rachel. It was one of the few classes they had together. They sat at the very back, so they were rarely noticed anyway, mostly spending the forty five minutes of lectures about chemical equations doing little drawing games on their notebooks and playing hangman. Percy lost most of the time.

The teacher wasn’t that great, either. Most of the school knew her as Mrs. Jones. She was a short lady in her late sixties with thin, badly dyed hair who had a concerning addiction to gum—so to Percy and Rachel—she was known as Mrs. Gum-Gum. She turned to the board for some explanation that Percy had completely lost interest on since the first five minutes of class. Rachel let out a low moan, hands on her forehead.

“Kill me now,” she muttered.

“Sorry, I can’t. My sword doesn’t work on you.”

“I hate you.”

“Yeah,” he grinned, leaning backwards and tilting his chair. “I know.”

She hit him in the shin. “You’re going to fall one of these days, and the class will never let you forget it.”

“Eh,” Percy shrugged. “At least they’d get a laugh and you wouldn’t be so bored.”

Her green eyes twinkled with humor like she’d just remembered something. She snorted. “Okay. So this one time, a girl was doing the same thing as you, leaning back and all—and she like, fell. It was hilarious, because she just lay there, with her feet in the air.”

“Rachel Dare,” Gum-Gum called, narrowed eyes cast on them. She kind of sounded like a wounded hyena, in his humble opinion. “I sure hope you and Mr. Jackson are discussing the worksheet that I gave out.”

Rachel nodded and threw her a thumbs up, while Percy held a fist to his mouth to stop the smile forming on his face. Gum-Gum left her alone and went back to her lecture.

The class kept its monotone routine of worksheets and notes, so as a distraction, Rachel grabbed his arm and popped the lids off her sharpies, drawing little figurines. She was on his second tattoo when an idea came to him.

“Hey, Rach?” he whispered, making sure the teacher was facing the board.

“Hmm.”

“We should play truth or dare.”

She grabbed the green marker and spread the ink from side to side across his skin. “Mmm...No.”

“Come on,” he whined. “I’m bored.”

“Yeah, but we’ve done truth or dare so many times now. It’s gotten old. Besides, you’re such a pussy.”

“Am not.”

“Yes, you are. Remember that time I dared you to eat the gum from under the seat?”

Percy made a face. “That was so fucking gross. Nobody in their right mind would’ve done that. Maybe Mrs. Gum-Gum, but I am not on her level.”

“I figured, after you blatantly refused. And then there’s the time when I dared you to kiss Mary Andrews. On the cheek. And you couldn’t do it.”

“Oh my gods, I can’t just kiss girls. That’s leading them on.”

She exhaled, long and deep and stared at him as if he were a lost cause. “Okay. Whatever.”

She went back to drawing on his arm.

“If anyone’s the pussy right now,” he whispered. “It’s you.”

“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that. You just wish you were as marginally cool as me.”

“Um...Then why won’t you play truth or dare?”

“Like I said: bo-ring.” She leaned closer to his arm, creating tiny details with the thinner side of the sharpie. “And don’t tell me I don’t do the dares, ‘cause I do. My last name’s Dare, after all. It would be a complete dishonor.”

“How long have you waited to say that?”

“Oh, you don’t wanna know. Now hold still. You’d look good with tattoos, by the way.”

He sighed. Okay, fine. She had a point, he wasn’t that great at doing “cool” stuff, likely because he was traumatized by the getting-kicked-out-of-schools thing he had going for him. You know, maybe it was that.

As Percy watched her work with her sharpies, he realized: maybe there was a way to prove to her that he could do daring stuff. A once in a lifetime thing. And in the process, he could make her smile.

“Fine,” he said. “If you don’t wanna do something, then let’s make a bet.”

“Depends on what you want to bet on, but go on.”

“How much money would you give me to flip this table, right here, right now, in the middle of class?”

The read-head stopped creating the swirly lines of the little wave she’d been working on, making his skin tingle from the loss of the pointy marker. She lifted her freckled face, watching him with raised eyebrows.

“Nah, you don’t have the guts.”

“Psh. ‘Course I do. I’m Percy Jackson.”

“Ohhh! Percy Jackson. I’m Rachel Dare, nice to meet you.” She lifted her hand like she wanted Percy to shake it.

He slapped it away. “Shut up. I can totally do it.”

“Do you not care about getting in trouble with dear ol’ Gum-Gum?”

“I’ll make it seem like an accident.”

“Nothing you do seems like an accident to teachers.”

“Good point. Still be worth it, though.” He lowered his voice even further. “Besides, I gotta prove to you that I can do cool stuff.”

Rachel snorted. “Now I could literally ask you to do drugs and you’d do it, apparently. Peer pressure is a dangerous thing, my dude.”

He grinned. “And I want your money. You’re like, rich, Dare.”

“Thanks for the reminder, Jackson.”

“No problem.”

Gum-Gum shot them an admonishing look, and they pretended to do their work.

“So,” she said after a few seconds passed. “How much money?”

“I knew you could work with me.”

“Ugh, I’m getting second thoughts from your dramatism.”

“You love it.”

They held gazes, green on green. Rachel narrowed hers and sighed. 

“Again, how much money?”

Percy shrugged. “You decide.”

“Fine.” She flipped some of her fiery curls over her shoulder. “I’m betting on a hundred bucks.”

He whistled under his breath. “Damn. You want me to do it that badly?”

“I do want to see everyone’s reaction to Percy Jackson losing his shit.” He shoved her, but she continued. “Especially Gum-Gum’s. But I know we’re getting in trouble, so we might as well go all out. What? It’s true! But at least you’d get your money.”

Percy shook his head. He’d probably regret this later.

Then he thought, what would Annabeth think?

But he couldn't dwell too much on that. At least it would be funny.

“We need to clear the desk, though.”

“Duh.”

So they worked, as quietly and discreetly as they could. When they’d finished, Percy turned to Rachel and nodded. She put a hand against her mouth to muffle her laughter.

On the third count, he flipped the desk. The table crashed with a resonating bang.

Rachel leaned backwards and let out a sound of surprise, probably because she’d half speculated that he wouldn’t pull through with it in the first place.

Immediately, everyone craned their heads to the back of the room. Some jumped at the sound. Others gasped or snickered, especially at the sight of Mrs. Gum-Gum. She yelped and dropped her marker, slapping a hand to her chest and retreating a few steps as if she were about to go into cardiac arrest.

“Percy Jackson!”

He winced a bit, but all in all, he thought he was keeping a straight face. But then he caught onto Rachel’s expression, arms crossed. He doubted they’d get off freely, just as she’d said.

/

As they shouldered their backpacks, heading for room 1345—detention—Rachel slipped her hand in the pocket of her paint-splattered uniform skirt.

“I didn’t know I had the money with me, but it seems as though he fates are in your favor, Jackson,” she said, taking the dollar bills from her pocket and handing them to him. They both knew all too well that she didn’t care for it. Daddy issues, he recalled.

Percy raised his eyebrow. “Thanks, Rach. Now, I can finally buy a new skateboard.”

“Nice to know that this was worth it.”

“Especially since now you have to do something...daring.”

She tapped her index finger to her temple mockingly. “Oh, I see. That’s why you wanted to do that bet. So then we could be on even ground.”

“Do you agree, Dare?”

“My gods, you’re so corny. But sure. Though let's not get ourselves a detention pass the next time, hmm? I feel bad for you. How many have you gotten this semester?” She clicked her tongue. “What will your mom say?”

1343, 1344 ... 1345. This was the place. Through the window, he could see many of the students already settling in, giving the teacher the strip of paper that he and Rachel had in their pockets.

He exhaled. “I don’t want to think about Mom just yet. But honestly, I don’t mind detention. And I don’t think she would, either. Better than getting kicked out.”

“Mmhmm. And I don’t really mind spending some more quality time with you. Even if we get in trouble, I kinda think you’re nice to be around, Jackson.” She smiled and held her arm out for him to pass. For some reason, that comment made his chest feel warm and fuzzy. “Gentlemen first.”

“Isn’t it ladies first?”

“Chivalry is dead. Now go on.” She nodded towards the door. “I like being fashionably late.”

“And you say I’m the dramatic one,” he grumbled.

#anon #writing prompts #perachel #percabeth #pjo fic #also this dragged out and idk I got lazy #look mom i can write