Diana Boudreaux's Story

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJeremiah Hawk
xxxxxxxxxThe Athlete - ED1005 - outfit



Jeremiah sat on his bed once again that morning. Lifting his leg up to put his foot on the bed as well, he could feel his knee shaking. He took of the bandages he put on earlier. It was the third time he was doing so, never finding it tight enough to get through the day.
He put them back again, his skin turning a bit lighter as he pulled the bandages as tightly as he could. It looked like no blood would be able to go through the leg to his feet. Another worry for another day. Definitely not as important as being able to walk normally today.
He had trouble admitting how injured he was. His agent knew, his doctor and his coach knew and Jeremiah knew, that was about it. Except for the doctor, all had agreed for Jeremiah to keep up appearances. Showing the nation and more importantly the city of LA he would be back in a few short months.
Lately, he had been walking a lot, trying to get his speed up and his limp under control. He had made a quick walk through town the night before, just practicing after the long flight. It went well, and if people saw him, it wouldn’t have been many.

He couldn’t shake the feeling of being nervous. And sleeping in a bed he didn’t know, under a roof he wasn’t used to, wasn’t helping it one bit. He had taken a shower the moment he got up, finding that both his mom and Jenna weren’t awake yet. The half hour power shower had been very welcome. It was kind of hot in Bluffton for the time of the year, and Jer sweat throughout the night, not finding a comfortable position to lie in. No matter if he was on his side, stomach or back, he could always feel his knee thumping. Like it was moving on its own.

The place he bought for his mom, and where they were now staying was nothing like his old place. When they were younger, this house was known as ’old man Hickory’s house’. Although the man in question had been dead for a long time, the overgrown house still bore his name. Before he bought it, it had been known as a kind of haunted house. The kind of house people walked by fast, and where children dared each other to come as close to the place as possible. There had been lots of stories about the place, of course, none of it true. The group had been in here before, when they organised a Halloween party in the house.
After Jer had bought it, they changed up the entire place. The structure was still the same, but the garages had been removed and the surrounding grounds had been turned upside down to make it a very cosy and warm looking place. A place perfect for his mom. She had objected at first, humble as she was. But when the plans were drawn up, and she saw the garden and the kitchen in architect images in front of her, she had been excited to move to ’the other side of the bridge’.

After re-doing his knee, he went back to the mirror to shave. He had perfected the stubble in the past few months, finding it suited him well. The edges of his would-be-beard were finely marked on his face. Looking sharp. He could not withhold a compliment to his fine work. In the closet he picket out simple black jeans and a black shirt. He was going for simple. Some of the brands and styles he normally wore would not be as accepted at a party organised by the Bordreaux’. He laughed to himself, the couple had never been as accepting to him as their kids were. With some practice he had been able to copy the exact frown of Margaret, something they’d often laughed over.
He sprayed on some aftershave before making his way to the kitchen, where his mom had just left a note to let him know there was food in the fridge. Well…, if that isn’t a blast from the past. He opened the fridge to see 2 plates of his mom’s famous Mac n Cheese, one for him and one for Jenna. He has insisted him mom made his favourite dish, and being the only child he was still being spoiled whenever possible.

As he closed the fridge, he heard Jenna coming down the stairs. ”Jer? You ready to go?”
He looked over and saw her slipping on her shoes. ”Wow, it seems you’re looking to impress a certain someone.” He said with a smile, directly followed by a lump in his throat. He rather not discuss Casey too much around Jenna, both finding it a sensitive topic for very different reasons.
He coughed slightly to clear his throat and continued. ”I thought we’d walk, it’s not too far from here in any case.” In truth it was not his only reason for walking. He wanted to avoid sitting down and standing up, scared it would loosen his bandages again.

They left the house and stepped into the bright sunlight. As they walked they made some small talk about Jenna’s fashion line, Jer’s success from the previous season and how excited they were to see everyone. That last part was a bit of a stretch, at least for Jer. He was not sure what he was walking into. He had hoped to avoid Di, but then again, it was a party at her house, so a big fat chance of that happening. They passed one of the walls of the Bordreaux’ property. ”See that tree there? That’s the best way to climb in unseen.” He pointed out a specific spot to Jenna. ”There's very little light on the other side of the wall, and I only had to pass Lia’s room before getting to Di’s.” He thought back, but would not be able to tell Jenna how many times he’d done that.
The closer they came to the entrance, the more his stomach started rumbling. He wasn’t hungry, but he had the feeling his stomach was in a football match all on its own. Finally standing in front of the entrance, he looked at Jenna. ”Ready?” he asked her, copying Di’s mom’s frown. or not… he thought to himself.

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To say Di wasn't nervous would be a blatant lie. Diana Boudreaux, who was her parents' high school princess, the organizer of just about every social event in town, avid book club leader.... nervous? Leave it up to her family to pull something off like this to get Di's anxiety levels at an all time high. Just about every person she was close with from school were here. The kind of friends who are up all night having the deep conversations with you. That kind of close. Her nose twitched. To say she felt sort of out of place was an understatement. Every one of them had branched off to live their own lives, and she, well.... felt like she had accomplished the opposite. While Diana could probably be President of the country right about now, she's stuck in her hometown instead.

'What am I suppose to say?' she thought as she stared at her reflection in her mothers vanity mirror upstairs, 'that I ended up working for family business like every other sad, lonely kid that's well off?'. She blew a curled piece of chocolate brunette hair out of her face. Her cherry red lipstick stained her lips, and she had more makeup on than she's worn in awhile. Her hair was practically perfectly curled on the top of her head as she had been spending the last two hours perfecting her appearance. She wasn't even that much of a drinker, but she definitely needed a drink. Or six.

Her jaw clenched as she stared at herself in the mirror, making that facial expression everyone knew as her own personal trademark for when she was thinking too hard. Hell, her head may just pop off. She shimmied her dress to hitch higher over her flat chest, and realized how self-conscious she felt just doing it . Her brain was spinning. She raised her arms to quickly check if her armpits were sweating profusely. 'All good' she thought as she lowered her arms back to her sides. Her parents were probably beginning to wonder why she hadn't come down to mingle yet. These were her old friends, after all. Casey, Nate, Her sis--Oh god. Jeremiah. 'Oh, dear God'

She dragged her heeled feet across the floor. She was Diana. The one who always made her parents proud. What was she doing hiding away? She drew back her shoulders and took a deep breath. Twisting the doorknob, she let herself out of the room. Voices, familiar voices, filled her ears. 'This is a good thing. This is going to be fun... kinda.'

Diana walked down the stairs and made eye contact with her mother. She gave her mum a tight smile, threw her a thumbs up and turned on her toes in the direction of her old friends who hadn't seen her enter the room quite yet.

"Who the hell started this party without me?" She exclaimed as she eyed the drinks in peoples hands, throwing her arms up in the air as if she were posing for an over-the-top bougie photo. "Oh my gosh, Nate! You definitely grew a bit taller, no?" She smiled brightly, stalking over to the small group and throwing her arms around Nate as if she had just seen him yesterday. Drawing back, she looked over at her brother and wrapped her arm around him in a side-hug and squeezed his shoulder. "How's it going with you? Where is our dear sister? Erin, where's my dear sister?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side to glance up at the blonde at the bar.

Slipping her arm away from around Ben, she leaned on the bar, folding her arms over one another and resting her head on top of her hands as she turned away from the boys and drew her attention towards Erin. She was obviously nervous. Bouncing all over the place was so unlike her. She really just doesn't want anyone to know she's dreading this.

"Please make me your strongest drink." Her lips curled into a wicked but sweet-looking smile as she blinked up at Erin. She wondered who else had arrived.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJeremiah Hawk
xxxxxxxxxThe Athlete - ED1005 - outfit


Jeremiah had used the old-fashioned knocker on the door. Either it was too loud inside, or they had a feeling it was him on the other side. For a moment Jer’s eyes glaced over, What do I do if Di answers…, would she even let me in? As he thought it, the hurricane in his stomach seemed to intensify, close to the feeling he had before big games. He cleared his throat, ready to suggest to just open the door as it couldn’t be locked. ”Well.., I guess we’re letting ourselves in.”
Jer opened the door and stepped back to let Jenna in first. As he stepped through the door, he was hit by a feeling of déjà vu. The house was still, simply put, too big. The walls were higher than in any other house he’d seen. The oaken finish of the staircase and the chandelier hanging high on the ceiling still took him by awe. It hadn’t changed anything, even from the first time he had entered this house. Ironically enough, the first time he had stepped through these doors had been to bring home Lia, instead of Diana. He hadn’t stepped in for more than two steps before Lia basically pushed him out again playfully.

The crowd inside of the house was sizeable to say the least. The people that were there for Ben could probably be counted on 2 hands with the thumbs cut off. One of the famous Bordreaux functions. Jer nervously looked around, not immediately seeing any of their friends. He was trying to spot Nate, the only one he had spoken to about a week ago. Them living in the same city basically meant they saw each other more than any of the others. Jer looked towards the bar when he heard a voice come up behind them.
”Wait, J-Jeremiah Hawk? Wassup, man? It's been…fuck, it's been a minute. How are you?” A wide grinning Nas came walking up to them. Jer wasn’t sure what it was, but the grin on Nas’ face was usually an indication he was up to no good. He just had one of those cheeky smiles that made him very likeable, even though he didn’t show it to everyone.

”Nas!” Jer was completely oblivious to the fact that the man’s attention was more focused on Jenna than himself. Like a true football player, he intercepted the bee line Nas was making towards her. He threw up his right hand to the height of his chest, ready for Nas to do the same, so their hands would meet in the middle. Not stopping, Jer put his left hand over Nas’ shoulder and pat him on the back, completing the bro-hug they had been using for years.
”It’s good to finally see you, man! I’ve been wanting to thank you in person forever for my moms house. It looks amazing…, like really amazing.”

Realising he was just a tad bit selfish, Jer finally let his friend go and stepped back, giving the same opportunities to Jenna. He found it hard to describe how relieved he was to see Nas here as well. Not only because he had truly missed hanging out with him, but also and maybe even more so, to have an additional buffer between Jer and the others. He knew they were all going to be there, or at least they all had said they’d come. They might not have been the most dependable bunch in the last few years, but he was sure all of them dropped whatever they had going on to come and support Ben. The sweat was forming on his forehead rapidly, and it wasn’t the heat. He took out a small piece of cloth from his pocket and dabbed his forehead.

He didn’t specifically look forward to seeing Casey, already feeling uncomfortable at the thought. But at least he understood the silent agreement the two had, to never talk about what happened between them. Either of them would be crazy to bring it up. It was one of those things you hoped you could forget. Not for the experience itself, but because you don’t want to admit to yourself how stupid and foolish you actually are.
At least Casey and Jer didn’t have to discuss any of that, at least not here and definitely not now. Unlike Diana… he thought to himself. They had to say something to each other. Not that he had any idea what exactly, but they had to say something. For the millionth time he wished he hadn’t waited. That he would have showed some bravery, instead of the undeniable cowardice he had shown. I really had to wait for Ben to almost die before coming back here.

Ben… What would he even say to Ben? They had never been extremely close, but Ben had always been there. Jer always had the feeling Ben was too smart for him. Jer’s head was up in the clouds, while Ben’s head was in a book. Thinking about things just way too much. Jer’s jaw had dropped when he heard the news. He wouldn’t readily admit it to anyone, but he had trouble understanding the state of mind bringing someone to suicide. Not that he was overly happy at all times, or never had really bad days, but the extremity. If nothing else, I couldn’t do it to my mom.

Almost waking up out of a trance, he suddenly realised Ben and Nas, and the fact they were still married. Speaking before thinking it just came out, not with bad intent, but he always had trouble keeping things in. He leaned into Nas, at least having the decency to keep it just between the three of them. ”So Nas?…How are you feeling right now? I mean…, this must be weird for you, no?”

N A T H A N I E L x P R I C E

T H E x A C T O R
Outfit: Here
Location: The Boudreaux-Hansen Household
Dialogue Colour: #6b0902

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Casey was strangely wordy when she noticed Nate, not that she wasn’t always wordy, but something seemed off. "Hey Nate. You look good." She paused for a moment, and Nate waited for her to continue, more than slightly bemused by his old friend. "Just shocked you actually showed up. You know, time schedule and everything. Can't be easy for you."

"You're one to talk." Erin butted in. He had almost missed her knowing everything and not having a filter. Everything in his life was so goddamn filtered now. Everything had to be carefully thought out. Nothing was carefully thought out where Erin was concerned. It just happened.

"Okay, that sounded bad. I just...I didn't mean it like that." Casey stammered. Her cheeks were starting to turn pink.

"Sure you didn't."

“Hey, it’s fine, don’t worry-” he started to say.

"Anyway uh..I'll be back in just a second....I need to uh, use the bathroom."

Nate watched her leave. Clearly he was missing something here and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. The last time he had been in town, she had been glued to Jenna’s hip, but he couldn’t see the other woman anywhere in the crowd. He knew things hadn’t ended well between them, but surely it couldn’t have been that bad, right? Break ups happened all the time and they’d had years to get over it. What had Jenna done to make Casey so skittish? He was brought back to earth by Ben’s voice.

"It's good to see you, man. Always nice to have our favourite star around the place." Nate rolled his eyes. "How have you been?"

“I’m good, always good. Pilot season just died down so things are a little quiet, but y’know, scripts are still landing on my desk. Gotta ride the wave before it crashes right?”

Before he could ask Ben if he was working on anything new, the once familiar call of Diana filled the room. "Who the hell started this party without me?"

“Wouldn’t have had to if you could be anywhere on time,” he muttered to himself before pasting a smile on his face. “Diana! Feels like forever.” He wrapped his arms around her, rolling his eyes at Erin over Diana’s shoulders. Nate was starting to feel like he’d fallen into another dimension. Everyone was themselves, but not how he remembered. Sure, Di had always been the golden girl, Mommy’s princess if you like, but this was a level of schmooze that a studio head would be proud of. And Casey was kinda awkward all the time, but she seemed like she was about to combust. How much had he missed? Erin would know. She always knew. “Hey Erin, let me know when you’ve got a minute.”

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J E N N A x R E Y N O L D S

T H E x R E B E L
Outfit: Here
Location: The Boudreaux-Hansen Household
Dialogue colour: #670996

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Jenna felt the dread knotting in her stomach as they walked up the drive. The Boudreaux-Hansen’s had always done pretty well and Jenna had thought their house was a castle when she was a kid. Now it felt more like a fortress. With any luck, Casey was running late and she could find her feet before having to deal with the ex. She twisted the strap of her bag around her fingers.

”Well.., I guess we’re letting ourselves in.”

“Looks that way.” Jenna stepped into the lobby and everything was exactly as she remembered it. Still ornate and grand, and almost like something out of a Disney movie. But it all felt different now. Maybe she knew too much now about appearances, about life in general. It was still beautiful, but it was beautiful the way a blizzard is beautiful, not the way spring is. She looked around the room. Nate and Ben were by the bar being lovingly attacked by Diana...and Casey. Jenna felt her chest tighten and she looked away. This was ridiculous. It had been years and Casey still had this effect on her. She was Jenna fucking Reynolds. She didn’t need someone who didn’t need her. Jenna sucked her cheeks in and tried to get a grip on herself when "Jen?"

Jen looked up to see her best friend standing there. She let Jeremiah have his hello before she practically pushed the quarterback out of the way. She threw her arms around Nas, squeezing him tight. “I’ve missed youuuuu.” It had only been a few months since she’d last seen Nas, but he did hold the ranking of Best Friend. They’d seen each other through everything, usually over several alcoholic beverages and a strong black coffee in the morning. She missed Nas when he wasn’t in New York. She held him at arm’s length and looked him up and down. “You look so good!

”So Nas?…How are you feeling right now? I mean…, this must be weird for you, no?”

Jenna closed her eyes to hide the roll she did. “Think it’s weird for all of us. Never thought I’d end up back here. Not like this anyway.” She looked between her two boys. "But first, drinks!"

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Diana’s head perked up at the mention of Casey’s name, feeling somewhat guilty for not noticing her in the room. But before she could go over and say her own hello’s, Casey disappeared. She mentally shrugged. "Hope it's to your liking, Princess." Erin playfully spoke as she handed Di a drink.

”Perfect. Thanks, girly.” Diana eyed the amber liquid and the golden glow of the glass-like cubes. She poked them with her perfectly manicured nail to hear them jingle. She watched, entranced, as they bounced back up- remaining mostly submerged like mini icebergs. Wrapping her long fingers around the glass, she raised the glass to sip, feeling the keen burn on her tongue and throat- a burn that made her recoil. Diana wasn’t much of a drinker, and for some reason it made her fingers tingle right up her knuckles.

"As for your sister...Who the fuck knows in all honesty." Diana’s attention was snapped back to reality as she heard Erin’s voice, mirroring her shrug. Typical Lia. Leave it up to her sister to show up after years of being away, only to show up late. Though, Diana couldn’t deny the fact that her heart ached with a ping of longing for her sister. Despite their well-known differences, she missed her dearly. She almost felt the sweat at her brow form as she wondered what she’d even say to her other half if she came walking through the front door at that very moment. ’No need to be so awkward, Di. This is family we’re talking about.

The house was indeed Elizabethan, with wooden panels along the corridors, ornate chandeliers, and oil paintings of old bearded men in tunics and ruffs. Family portraits lined the walls. It was no question her parents had a nice house. And it was, after all, her childhood home. How could she not think it was nice? She heard more voices begin to fill the air as more and more people entered the hall.

“Hey Erin, let me know when you’ve got a minute.” She heard Nate speak from behind her as she glanced at him from over her shoulder. She immediately turned to face him and straightened her back.

“I can step out for a minute,” she put her hands up defensively with a small smirk painting her cherry lips “Don’t mind me.” She turned on her heel to snatch her drink from the countertop. Before she could think, she turned her attention across the room where all the new voices were emerging from. Her cheeks turned a dark shade of champagne pink as her eyes locked with Nas, Jenna, and…. Jeremiah. She felt her heart skip a beat as she realized there was no turning back now. She couldn’t awkwardly face away and pretend as if she hadn’t seen them. No, that would be too obvious. And she couldn’t stay at the bar when she had already excused herself. That would be too awkward. “Yeah, uh, don’t mind me.” She repeated herself, taking a large gulp of her drink.

She felt the soft panic that can grow or fade depending on what she did next. She guessed she could stay back and let the panic fade, but that would just mean she’d have to face up to it and do it all over again later. It would only grow if she just stood at the bar and let her thoughts swirl into a vortex of stupidity, eating their own tail. Or she could take another gulp of her drink, gulp, breathe real slow, and let her thoughts guide her over to the other group.

Diana painted a stretched smile on her lips as she crossed the floor, her heeled shoes clicking against the hardwood as she, in typical Diana fashion, let herself intruse upon the group's conversation.

“Hey, it’s so nice you all could make it.” Her voice was shaky but confident as she stood in front of the three. She looked at each one of them and gave them all a small grin, her palms becoming sweaty around her glass as she made eye contact with Jeremiah. Silence. “Oh, well, bring it in!” She chimed, attempting to break the awkwardness as she first wrapped her arms around Jenna in a small embrace, then stepped towards Nas to do the same, then stopped as she stood in front of Jeremiah. Her lips grew into a tight smile as she opted out of hugging, fearing it would feel too awkward. She simply faintly smiled up at him for perhaps a moment too long before awkwardly looking away and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She glanced down at her glass, where the liquid had somehow almost disappeared.

“Was everyone headed towards the bar for some drinks?”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxJeremiah Hawk
xxxxxxxxxThe Athlete - ED1005 - outfit


Jenna’s tone of voice when she told them it was weird for all of them, gave Jer the idea he had said something wrong. He wasn’t going to protest. Knowing himself, it probably had been the wrong thing to touch on so early in the party. It wasn’t Jer’s intention to stir up drama, more to keep drama as far away from him as possible. ”Drinks sound like a solid game plan.”

From the corner of his eye, Jer thought he saw a blond head sneaking off. It might have been Casey, but whoever it was went by too quickly for him to confirm. He rubbed his stubble thinking of how he would deal with seeing Casey again. He wondered how he could think so quickly on the field, but be so stumped when it came to normal life. He would have to act normal, or at the least his version of normal. We used to hug when seeing each other, but would that be too much now?

Jer took the phone from his pocket and his eyes focused when the thing unlocked itself. He had no new messages, and still about a thousand unread emails, although that was kind of a daily thing. He flipped through it, even though he knew full well there was nothing new on the damn thing. By now it was a nervous twitch than actually looking for something. He was waiting for the others to move, maybe they could deflect whatever was coming his way.

All of a sudden he knew he didn’t have to move for his nightmare to close in on him. Without looking up, or maybe even afraid to look up, he knew Diana was on her way. These were her high heels that made the clicking noise on the hardwood floors, he’d recognise it anywhere. The tempo of the steps, the way the sound filled the room. Was it just him, or did everyone hear it this way? The sound came closer still before he had the courage to look up at her.

He thought he could feel his jaw drop. She looked elegant as ever, radiant even. It felt like the low hanging sun lit up the room to emphasise her. If she was nervous about this, it looked like she had a better way of hiding it then he did. Her stride was still one of confidence and the way she composed herself was still like it had been 7 years ago. Just before she arrived to their group he remembered to close his jaw again. Stop trying to look so stupid for 1 friggin’ minute Jer could kick himself.

“Hey, it’s so nice you all could make it.” she said calmly, maybe a bit of a higher pitch than normal. Jer’s mind was racing. Of all the things playing in his mind, their fights were the last thing he wanted to imagine right now. However, it was the same few memories that flew through his mind time after time. I can’t believe the last word I ever spoke to her, or called her, was ‘bitch’ It had been wrong, it had been so wrong to call her that. Yes, they disagreed, and yes, they were drifting apart, but none of that should have driven him to call her a bitch. It had been mean, and solely intended to hurt her feelings.

He saw her smile at them. Bitch, bitch, bitch… The word repeated in his mind time and time again. He felt his palms get sweaty. Bitch, bitch… He saw her leaning in to hug Jenna first. Now he was feeling chills, cold and heat running through his body at the same time. Bitch, bitch, bitch… Come on man, stop yourself! He was better than this, this isn't how his mother raised him. As Jenna and Di separated, he saw her going for a hug with Nas. Bitch, bitch, bitch… Oh no, I’m next. Is she….is she gonna hug me too? The full fledged panic attack could be felt in every fibre of his being. Di was pretty much a foot smaller than he was, but he still felt himself shrinking further and further. Bitch, bitch, bitch… Why am I being such an ass, stop yourself!

Jer felt hopeless when Diana and Nas let go of each other. Bitch, bitch… Don’t you guys need to hug a bit longer, you’re siblings in law for crying out loud! The moment before they took note of him, he took out the handkerchief from his pocket to nervously dab his forehead dry. As he put it back in his pocket he looked straight into Diana’s eyes, their feet in each others direction. He blinked a few times quickly, almost hoping he would see something else when he opened his eyes again. Bitch, bitch, bitch… Please God, for everything that’s holy, don’t let me open my mouth.

He put one foot forward, expecting her to do the same. Expecting her to hug him like she did the others. Bitch, bitch, bitch…He hunched over and spread his arms before he realised she was not moving like he’d expected her to do. He stopped halfway, not knowing what to do next. His armpits felt like the Pacific on the left and the Atlantic on the right. He stopped moving completely, trying to camouflage his spreading arms as if he was to make an announcement. "B..bitch....-ing party, Di!" he proclaimed a bit too loud and a bit too forced. His smile turned into a small laugh, which turned into a sound he’d never made before, and hopefully would never repeat.

"Drinks sound like an excellent idea!" He turned his body towards the bar, hoping the others were planning on the same. In a few long strides he made his way over to the bar, like he was going for the end zone. "One beer, please…" he mentioned to one of the barmaids. quickly, he thought.

ben bordreaux-hansen
the writer - #779876 - outfit

xxxi've never so adored you
xxxi'm twisting allegories now
xxxi want to complicate you
xxxdon't let me do this to myself

Ben just raised an eyebrow at Casey's very obviously fake smile. They'd need to have a proper catch up somewhere that wasn't here. But when he noticed her attention drifting elsewhere, he instinctively turned to look and spotted Jeremiah, Jenna... and Nas. His stomach dropped. They hadn't seen each other since the hospital, and even then, it had been brief and full of awkwardness. What the hell to you say to the man you pulled away from, you walked away from, and yet still left as your next of kin? He still hadn't figured out what the hell he was supposed to do or say. Thankfully, a distraction arrived in the form of Diana, clearly acting the perfect hostess, as if this was just another party and seven years hadn't passed since they were last all in the same room. "I'm good, Di," was all he said. "Haven't seen Lia yet, though," he admitted. He turned to ask Casey if she'd seen Lia, but Casey had slipped away without them noticing, leaving him alone with Diana and Nate. He fixed a smile on his face. Nate asked Erin for a word, clearly in search of news. Diana took that as her leave and sauntered over to another group. Ben's stomach twisted painfully again as he saw what group it was.

The fact that Diana and Nas had become friends would never not be weird to Ben. When he and Ben had first started dating, Diana had sided with their parents on the matter of not approving of him. She'd fed him some bullshit about just wanting to look out for him, and as time had gone on, the two seemed to genuinely let along. But Ben found himself stuck on the fact that when it had come to his happiness or their parents' approval, she'd sided with them. It had driven a wedge between them that they'd never quite bridged.

He found himself watching Diana interacting with them all and the speed at which Jeremiah seemed to leave the group and head for the bar. That did make him smirk a little bit, but then he found his attention drifting back to Nas. Afraid of accidentally catching his husband's eye, he turned around and fished out his phone, mentally chastising himself. But if his estranged husband was here, that also meant his little sister had to be here somewhere too.

To: liiiiiiiia
this is awkward af where are you??? <3

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A M E L I AXB O U D R E A U X
_____ T H EXF R E EXS P I R I T _____

Outfit: Link Here
Location: The Boudreaux Residence
Dialogue Color ✦ #C35817
Thought Color ✧ #730800

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I K E N A S I OXA M A S I O - H A N S E N
_____ T H EXB A DXB O Y _____

Outfit: Link Here
Location: The Boudreaux Residence
Dialogue Color ✦ #307D7E
Thought Color ✧ #183E3F

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