Description

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░◤◥

A L E X A N D R A
B O U T R O S

☽ “She made broken look beautiful
and strong look invincible.
She walked with the Universe
on her shoulders and made it
look like a pair of wings.” ☾

Unsteady || X Ambassadors /|\ Elastic Heart || Sia /|\ Fly Before You Fall || Cynthia Erivo

Fᴀᴄᴇ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍ ✦ Normani Kordei
Dɪᴀʟᴏɢᴜᴇ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✧ #E8ADAA
Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ Cᴏʟᴏʀ ✦ #985D5A

◣◢

F U L LXN A M E

"Legally, I'm still a Johnson and I would never just dip on having my granddaddy's last name. At the same time, when my mom and I started this fashion company, House of Boutros, I had to accept that I had taken the name from my father. Who does not exist, as far as I am concerned."

Alexandra Marie Boutros-Johnson

N I C KXN A M E S

Lexi, Alex or Allie {Most common; she prefers Lexi} || Diva {Mockingly started, but now has become a staple; tolerates it}

A G EX:XD A T EXO FXB I R T H

"Everyone knows that I'm all about looking good. You can't ever say you caught me slipping. But if your Halloween costume cost more than my birthday present, we're gonna have a problem."

17: October 31

S E X U A LXO R I E N T A T I O N

Heterosexual

C H A R A C T E RX:XR O L E

The Diva

R E S I D E N C E

1 Central Park South New York, NY 10019

F A M I L Y

Though her main residence is spacious enough to hold her immediate family, considering it was her money that bought the place, Alexandra along with her childhood caretaker, Angela, are the only ones who reside there on a regular basis. Her mother, Roxanne, lives with Alexandra's grandfather, Robert L. Johnson, in their Long Island estate; the latter makes a habit of coming to visit every week. Alexandra has only met her father three times in her life and does not really care to acknowledge his existence.

H O M EXL I F E

Considering Alexandra is the only grandchild of Robert L. Johnson, an African American entrepreneur, media magnate, executive, philanthropist and investor - who also co-founded BET and founded RLJ Companies - not much in Alexandra's life wasn't golden when she was born. Though, the fact that her father is not a figure in her life is an issue she chooses to ignore. Alexandra is the result of a tumultuous affair between an Arabic independent film director and Alex's mother, a trust fund baby who followed in her mother's footsteps as a model while also relying on her father to continue to care for her. As far as Alex knows, there's no real love lost between Roxie and Amir, especially with the way he acted when she had announced her pregnancy. To this day, Alex doesn't exactly know all of the nitty gritty because her granddad refused to allow her to know, but she does understand that no man needs to be in her life if he has to get paid to do so. And it was definitely telling at a young age that her mother would rather go out and act like she wasn't a parent while simultaneously shoving Alexandra on nannies, but Alex really didn't have much room to mourn. She did mourn and no matter what she says, it gets lonely in a big penthouse, but it was even lonelier on the days her grandfather wasn't home and she had to deal with a mother who acted like she was a burden.

The one familial figure, besides cousins and such, that she was closest to was her grandfather. Robert cultivated Alexandra's love for life, traveling, adventures, video games, and especially, fashion. It was him who took her to Fashion Week and every catwalk he knew about after seeing the way Alex's eyes lit up the very first time she had even seen her mother walk. Who would have thought the exposure would have warranted a drive to re-create some of the same looks she could spend hours raving about? When Alex was only eight years old, she showed her granddad her first few sketches, a few of which she is embarrassed about now considering how somewhat immature they were, but he had seen some kind of talent in her. Before Alexandra knew it, she had a team, investors, and then a franchise. The one thing she can say she got from her father was his last name because the second she attached such a mature name to the somewhat dark yet casual and chic clothing she made, she became a success. Alexandra is nowhere near a billionaire, but she's definitely a millionaire in her own right and a part of her success can be attributed to her mother, who stepped up surprisingly when Alexandra proved to actually be something. While Alex hates that her mom acts more like a business partner than a mother, even she cannot deny that she wouldn't be where she is if her mom hadn't brought partnerships with Guess, Top Shop, and even a few modeling gigs of Alex's own. However, Alexandra did promise her grandfather a high school diploma and a college degree, and she loves her Constance life a bit too much to have dropped out like her mother.

A C A D E M I CXC A R E E R

Considering the fact that she is the CEO of House of Boutros, a fashion line she started when she was only ten years old, Alex hasn't exactly been motivated to get the highest of high grade point averages, but considering the majority of her grades are B+ with a sprinkle of As here and there, it's safe to say that she's doing pretty well for a high school student slash businesswoman. She also serves, to satisfy her grandfather who feared she was growing up too fast, as the Public Relations Director in the Student Government Association.

B A DXH A B I T S

Alex is really sensitive and feels things a bit too deeply at times. || Gets jealous easily and is possessive. || Holds grudges || Extremely vindictive || Very competitive || Can be petty

H O B B I E S

Social Media {She has an account on every platform that is currently out, and runs the accounts for SGA} || Shopping || Yoga || Sketching || Studying || Playing video games

L I K E S

Alcohol {Wine on good days, whiskey on the bad, and shots in between} ❤ Fashion Week ❤ Someone running their fingers through her hair ❤ Beaches ❤ When someone wraps their arms around her waist from behind ❤ French fries ❤ Being in charge ❤ Amusement parks, specifically for their water rides and rollercoasters ❤ Attention ❤ Hanging out with her friends ❤ Fashion and the way it evolves ❤ Pizza ❤ Spicy food ❤ Video games ❤ Affection ❤ Parties ❤ Desserts, especially pie or cheesecake ❤ Starbucks coffee ❤ Snow ❤ Lazy mornings ❤ Waffles ❤ Social media

D I S L I K E S

New York traffic {She's prone to rode rage} ✘ Liars, cheaters, and players ✘ Crying in front of people ✘ The blandness of Constance uniforms ✘ When her mothers gets really bossy ✘ Black coffee ✘ Anyone who messes with her friends ✘ Hangovers ✘ Twizzlers ✘ Snakes ✘ Losing ✘ Meaningless sex ✘ Being underestimated

P E R S O N A L I T Y

Alexandra has never been a fan of being in the middle. No, times like those are reserved for when she's playing video games with her guy friends or just chilling with fans on Instagram or YouTube. In fact, you can say that Alex is a woman of absolutes, no middles or in-betweens. She's either one-thousand percent happy, or all kinds of pissed. Either zero percent not-into-any-of-this-shit or she's all over it. Yeah, it can be over the top at times and sure, some of her friends probably have to attend weekly yoga sessions after being on her fast track schedule, but the one thing Alex is not is simple. She can be the chick wearing sweats at homes playing video games or watching movies with her best of best friends one day, and probably wake up in some cute guy's bed the next. Or at least, that's what the rumors would say. You might find it surprising that she can be both vain and insecure, but when you've been thrust into cameras and attended as many functions as Alexandra has, you probably would be just a little obsessed with your image. At the same time, you might even find flaws in yourself that make you want to hide in some dark corner. But there wouldn't be a corner large enough to contain all of this little chocolate diva, as her granddaddy likes to call her.

After having it drilled into her head since she was a kid, perfection has been the ultimate goal in Alexandra's life and she strives for that excellence every day. Besides, when has it been in Alexandra's genetic code to not pursue something she wants? She wants something, she takes it. She's got a goal, she goes for it. Reluctance and insecurities are the last things on her mind when both her mind and heart are set on something. For instance, how else do you think she's managed a solid 3.5 GPA while managing a fashion career without any sign of her taking a break? It wasn't because she hired anyone. You see, Alexandra has never been about that whole 'pay someone to do it for you.' Her mom might have tried that and she's seen a few of her 'friends' get less popular, but smarter girls to write their papers or do their homework. Alex can't do that. It all has to be on her own. Like, how she's the only creative mind behind her designs and what is sold in her New York-based store despite having a team to fall back on, she will do everything on her own. It's just who she is. It's not like she's bad at group projects, she just has a particular image in mind and things need to go her way. And if they don't, well, she'll either break down into some kind of mental malfunction or curse your name to the bottomless pits of Hell.

Not that bad, right?

To be completely honest, off-setting this over-the-top personality is a very lively and easy-going character. A surprisingly liked popular girl {partly because of her career, partly because she's actually not a bad person}, Alexandra doesn't discriminate in her daily greetings. Whether you're a part of her crew or not, she is almost always friendly and tries to be as welcoming as possible. She gets it, she really does. When you're with this group of socialites, you know who not to talk to. However, you also know who to make allies out of and who to make enemies out of. And yes, she's aware of the rumors. She's slept with a lot of guys at school. Actually, she's only slept with two guys at school and only one of them is one that everyone should know about. The third was not a student, but an up-and-coming rapper from California and it was a summer fling. Alexandra can just be a little...scandalous with words, all a part of the dramatics, though her more seductive or flirtatious of antics are not so much an act as they are simply facets of her person, especially when Alex wants something from you. The only problem with that is just because Alexandra can seem like a chilled person or possibly a sweetheart depending on who you are, it doesn't exactly mean that she's defenseless or innocently flawless as she'd like to tell you with her Dior shades on either. Remember that side of her that goes for what she wants? Well, that side can be pretty vengeful too if you push the right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) buttons. It might not happen today or tomorrow, unless you've pissed her off and in that case, she might just punch you, but trust that her revenge will come. Though, it is also safe to say that there's a bit of a dark side lurking, one that makes some of her vindictive machinations just a touch creative but definitely deadly, at least socially.

H E I G H TX:XW E I G H T

5'5 : 130 lbs

B U I L D

Naturally slim with an hourglass figure, Alex's curves are kind of hard to ignore, particularly in lieu of her love for bodycon dresses.

E Y EXC O L O R

Brown

H A I RXC O L O R

Despite the fact that, just like with her clothes, Alex has no issue trying out different styles, colors, and lengths, her natural hair color is black and her rather thick hair, super curly in texture, falls past her shoulders. Currently, that is how she is wearing her hair.

D I S T I N G U I S H I N GXM A R K S

Both of her ears are pierced, she has a double helix piercing in her right ear, and her belly button is pierced.

So begins...

Alexandra Boutros's Story

Seen 71 Times • Page 1 of 3 • 1, 2, 3

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Tristan-Castiel Castellan

0.00 INK

#2017-01-28 06:29:22, as written by royals

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Saint Jude's library (conference room)
_______________________________________
ccccccccccccccccc3:00 PM

The Saint Jude's school uniform never usually bothered Clifford. It was simple and classy enough, even if the options for each day's attire was limited to a few different styles of clothing that the school provided the students with. However, today Cliff felt oddly overheated and had to hang his navy blazer on the back of his chair. He wasn't overheating because of the room's temperature, as that was probably normal, and it also wasn't out of nerves. Today's weekly Student Government Association was being held in the Saint Jude's library conference room. Since classes had only gotten out minutes ago, Clifford wasn't surprised that he was the only one in the conference room, especially considering that the girls had to come from their campus across the street. He and Charlotte were the President of their school's student governments, but since the two schools worked so closely together, Clifford often felt like they were simply co-presidents of one club, rather than two separate ones working together. Sure, he hosted his own SGA meeting for St. Jude's separately once a week, but as he was sure on her end too, the biggest crowds usually came to the conjoined meetings. Events involving both schools tended to grab the attention of more students than the single-sex events, and Clifford didn't expect today to be much of an exception.

Today's meeting was a bit of an impromptu one, as earlier this week, it had been announced that the scheduled senior fall trip to Egypt had been cancelled due to proper accommodation issues. However plausible that that explanation was, he also wouldn't have been surprised if the abrupt, last minute cancellation had been because someone uppity helicopter parent had complained enough about irrational safety concerns about traveling to a country that didn't host one of the famous fashion weeks. That thought in itself bothered Clifford, considering that he had genuinely been looking forward to his first visit to Africa. In an attempt to not work himself up, he decided to just believe the public reason for the trip's cancellation, and focus on the three new options that administrators had given them until tomorrow to decide on. That was the point of this SGA meeting - to decide whether the senior class would spend a week next month in Paris, Berlin or New Zealand. The first two trips would be educationally based ones, focusing on learning about the history and cultures of the two European cities, while the third option would be more service based, getting students involved in learning about the country's ecosystem and helping to preserve it. Clifford had been to Paris years ago, but it wasn't a fresh enough experience where he wanted to rule it out, so he was walking into today's meeting with a pretty open mind. He would see what Charlotte and the other students who showed up were thinking, and go from there.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-01-31 09:54:01, as written by .euphoria.

Her outfit || Location: En route to St. Judes

"I'm telling you now Lottie...this is racist and you and I both know that I don't even use that term often," one Alexandra Boutros stated as she leaned against the lockers, arms folded over her chest. Though the bell to dismiss the students of Constance Billard had already rung, and most girls usually were out of the hallways and on their way to shopping excursions and spa days, they were a bit more crowded than usual today. Alex thought it had more to do with the joint SGA meeting that both St. Jude's boys and Constance's girls were allowed to attend. Granted, Alex also thought that more people were going to the meeting just to complain or flirt, which was a complete waste of her time since she didn't need extra bodies to complain today. She could do that on her own just fine, thank you. But, like with all meetings, everyone was welcomed. Which meant Alexandra had to bite her tongue on the matter...even though they all knew she didn't do so for long. "Seriously," she continued towards the blonde in question. "The one time we have a scheduled trip to a country whose history comprises of a mass of non-white bodies and that is the location we choose to abstain from for safety precautions? Living in New York is a safety hazard. You don't see people lining up to tell everyone to not let their kids grow up here." Alexandra huffed out a frustrated breath. Lottie looked through her locker for the books she needed and her notebook with all of her student council notes. She listened to Alex as she ranted only chuckling through the whole monolog of her best friend. She turned towards her girl with her finger pointed and a smug smirk on her face. "Wrong. My mama and daddy didn't want me growin' up here. That's why they waited. But, do go on. I'm listening." She knew that Alex would be pissed once finding out about the senior trip being moved to another location and frankly, so was Lottie. New Zealand, Berlin, she been to both, and her mother's from France for Christ's sake. She was looking forward to a more unique trip. One with culture, history, art, everything she was interested in learning about. Not to mention, it would look fantastic on international law resumes later in life.

The second that she and Lottie had received the notification that the location for their senior trip had been shot down, Alexandra had been livid enough that she had been relatively silent. She could easily get her grandfather to send her to Egypt on his dime and for her own leisure. Hell, she could pay for it on her own, if she so chose to. But the point was that the option to go with her class had been astounding and the general feedback on the Twitter polls she had set up with their senior classes on the SGA page had been relatively positive. A few people had voiced safety concerns, but also interest. Captivation. Excitement. And Alexandra had shared all of that. And now their options were New Zealand, Paris, and Berlin? "And who the fuck needs to go to Berlin to know its history of practically killing an entire group of people because of anti-Semitic and pro-Aryan predilections?"

"Language, Miss Boutros," a passing professor, Sister Atkins, reprimanded at Alexandra's much louder exclamation of anger. Alex gave the sharpest of eye rolls to Charlotte before turning back to smile sweetly at the older women. "My apologies, Sister Atkins." Considering Constance's longstanding ties with the Catholic church - and their founding under the religion - it wasn't uncommon for Sister Atkins to be on campus and teach one of the many religious courses Constance had to offer as electives. "Yes, Alexandra. Watch your mouth." Once the older woman was done staring her down with iciness, Alex whirled back on the class president, hissing, "I would've understood Athens or even Rome. Could've sucked it up for London, if they really wanted to be boring. But Berlin, really? I'm more interested in the catacombs of Paris than Berlin!" She closed her locker door and zipped up her bag holding her books and notes before turning her glance to her best friend. "The catacombs are pretty fantastic like with most things from and in France. But, Berlin is a lot more interesting than you think. It has a history while covered in tragedy, sure, but, it also is the home of art, the Berlin Wall, not to mention crafts German beers. I get where you are comin' from, mon amie, (my friend)" She wasn't trying to sway Alex's opinion of Berlin, frankly Lottie wouldn't want to go there either if she had her heart set on going to Eygpt. She was just trying to get her friend to look at the bright side of the situation. "And as bummed as we are. Parents are the ones that pay the big bucks to both schools. 'Sides either way, it'll be a fun trip no matter where we go because at the end of the day. I, the best Southern Belle this darn city has ever seen, is goin' with ya." She exclaimed with an exaggerated Southern accent.

Alexandra rolled her eyes, for show, at Charlotte's play on her own accent, but also didn't fight the small smile that formed on her face. "You're just lucky I love you, Lottie bear," she grumbled playfully and linked arms with the blonde. Lottie puckered her lips for a second as she linked arms with Alex and the pair started walking towards the exit. Under most circumstances, and especially since the semester began, Alex could be found with Sydney and Katherine. Since she and Sydney had begun the task of rebuilding their relationship, and make no mistake - Kat played a huge part in it - Alex found herself spending a lot more time than usual with the duo. But regardless of that growing relationship, and being known as a trio, she couldn't help but feel more relieved that Charlotte was going on the trip with her than she would let on. All of the seniors were usually supposed to go, but the comfort of having her best friend - the person who had been there for her through all of the mess the Upper East Side had brought into Alex's life - was more than enough reason for her to want to go on the trip. "I guess, we should start heading over. I'd hate to leave my people bereft of my magnanimous presence for much longer," Alex exclaimed dramatically and pulled Charlotte along. Lottie scoffed. "Wow, magnanimous. Someone's been lookin' at a dictionary lately."

Alex cast the blonde a sidelong glance before smirking wickedly, adding in jest, "And I mean, I guess you're pretty important too." Lottie turned her glare to the girl before rolling her eyes and snickering. "Yea, as class president, I would say I'm kind of important. Not as important as you, of course, but important." The pair made their way to the exit with their shoes clicking against the floor. Before they were able to walk out the doors of their school, Natalie, for the school newspaper lightly pulled Lottie’s free arm. She knew what she was going to be asked sooner or later but she didn’t know it would be this quickly. Natalie wasn’t even a senior and she already knew. "So, Buchanan, what are we going to do about the senior trip since Egypt was canceled? Care to make a comment?" Lottie didn’t even hesitate with her answer, knowing that she would have to answer this a lot more than this one time. "We’re having a meeting right now about a new location. It’s between three; Paris, Berlin, and New Zealand. We should know for sure within the next few hours.” She smiled towards the small brunette that Charlotte seemed to tower over before looking back to Alex and then back at the reporter. "Now, we really should get going. I’ll make sure to get one of the senior reporters to fill you in as soon as I can. Sound good?” Natalie finished writing down what the class president said before nodding. “Sounds good.”

"Great. Fantastic.” Without another word, Lottie pushed one of the doors open. She sighed. "Not even a week and all I’m getting asked is; “Why’d the change it?”, “Where are we going now?”, “We better be having a senior trip, Buchanan.” Not to mention, now my sister won’t leave me alone about it like it was my choice or somethin’. And all I can say is ‘We’re havin’ a meeting.” When I really wanna say, “Calm down, leave me alone, why don’t ya’ll ask your parents who’s idea it was.”

"I'd say it," Alex admitted, unrepentant, and pushed the other door open while following Charlotte's lead. All she had done in lieu of Natalie's questioning was eye the girl with a raised eyebrow, but allowed Charlotte to handle the situation. It was probably for the best that Natalia had approached Lottie only about it, in the first place. Alex had less of a filter and less patience. She grinned and added, "Besides, you know how much I love sassy Lottie. Makes me feel better that I'm not the only one capable of being a hothead in this relationship."

The pair continued down the front steps leading away from Constance Billard, and Alexandra waved to a few classmates who were standing around still conversing lightly among themselves or waiting for rides home. "On another and funner note, did you figure out what you're gonna dress up as for my birthday?" Alex after a few moments, whipping her phone out of her bag, which hung on the arm currently not connected with Charlotte's. Most of the time, Alex made it a priority to base her birthday, since it fell on Halloween, on varying themes. She had done a Mafia themed party two years ago which a few classmates had hailed as one of the best parties ever, and last year she had done a Naughty Sixteen for her sweet sixteen. It was definitely a salacious take on the traditional celebrations that followed that specific year. Regardless, every year, everyone had to dress up with costumes that fit her theme and for the most part, she could say that she hadn't yet been disappointed by the people she expected to show out. She made sure that no one could actually trump her, since that would be a huge insult, but it was always a really fun turnout. This year, she had decided on simply holding true to the grandeur of Halloween. Which was why it was important for her to hold the event at her Long Island estate as opposed to in the city. It was a larger layout and more opportunities to, well, scare people.

Lottie took a deep breath before shaking her head. "I was thinking about an angel or somethin'. I don't know. We both know I'm not that great at costume ideas. Not to mention I don't have the body, size, or the height to be a 'sexy nurse' or a 'sexy... anything', in all honesty. So, I was hoping that you, my best friend and the creative one of the two of us could help me. And when I say help I do not mean just throw some lingerie at me saying 'Lottie Bear, I think you'd look sexy in this.' Because, frankly I'm not dressin' like a prostitute or Regina from Mean Girls." She knew her friend always meant well but, while Charlotte was okay with posing for magazines in swimsuits and such, being surrounded by her classmates with what she felt like everyone staring at her, judging her for 'attempting' to dress sexy for a size 12. The pair were about to walk across the street but Lottie being the mom made Alex stop in order to make sure they weren't going to get ran over by a Bentley or something flying down the street. "With you helping me, I have guidelines and don't roll your eyes," She knew Alex was going to make a face at her list of 'guidelines'. "My three Bs have to be covered; butt, boobs, and belly, No leather, and no devils." She was religious so nuns, devils, or Eve were always dealbreakers for her. Charlotte pushed the door to the boys' school open. She smiled at a few of the guys she knew and waved before turning to Alex. "What are you thinkin' for your costume since I obviously can't look better than the birthday girl, not that I ever could."

"As if you don't walk around giving these St. Jude boys hard-ons because you've tapped into their secret sexy librarian kink," Alexandra joked, though she was far more serious than her best friend seemed willing to believe her to be. Lottie covered her mouth so the laugh that was coming out wouldn't be too loud. She shook her head. "I do not! And it's hilarious how wrong you are." Sure, Lottie knew she wasn't completely unattractive but, she didn't feel like she this walking boner magnet or anything.

As much as Alex was comfortable with showing off her body (and Alex honestly thought she had the right to considering the fact that for all of her deep love for anything bread-like and sweet, her abdomen remained relatively tight from a very active childhood), Alex didn't necessarily think that sexy meant less clothing. It certainly helped emphasize one's sex appeal, that much she was sure of. At the same time, she didn't think Charlotte knew how hot she actually was beneath the Constance uniform or the jeans she typically wore. "And I'm not saying to show up to my party like you're a Victoria's Secret angel on the catwalk, but I will definitely feel some type of way if you come in there dressed in what everyone is gonna expect you to show up as. Like, we actually might have to fight if you try me." Lottie rolled her eyes with a shake of her head. This is where Alex and Charlotte began to differentiate from one another. And if Lottie thought for a second that her telling Alex to not make a face was going to make her not make a face, she obviously didn't know her well enough and Alex made a point in giving the much taller blonde the most unimpressed look she could muster. Lottie looked down at the face Alex made towards her and stopped walking in the middle of the hall leading towards the library. "What? What's that look for?"

"Okay, one, I reject these stipulations only because when have I ever actually asked for your boobs and your ass to be out? And don't say cleavage because cleavage and wearing your ta-tas out like you're at Mardi Gras are two very different things. And I would like to think that I have a bit more class than that." Alex ignored the people around them, distractedly giving Charlotte a very pointed look. Lottie cleared her throat. She tried really hard not to let the looks bug her but, she wasn't one for being the center of attention unless it was when she had to be 'Madam President'. "Alex, I have 38Ds, I have cleavage and someone's endin' up with a black eye." The Southern girl kept her voice down as she interjected. The last thing she wanted was some group of guys knowing exactly what size bra she was. They wanted to know that bad, they could go online but she wasn't going to just shout it from the rooftops. Alex sighed before continuing, "I just want you to break out of your comfort zone this year. This is literally your last year to do so before you absolutely abandon me to wolves of the Upper East Side to go off with the other geniuses of the world. I want you to have fun and live, I mean really live. And the first rule of truly living is to do the thing you're most terrified of, or something like that." Lottie snorted as she was about to slide in a smart comment but, Alex beat her to the punch when she pointed a finger at the blonde and added, "And don't judge me on quoting The Vampire Diaries cuz you know that was during my weaker days." Alex frowned at the memory, putting on the show of shuddering. Considering where the show went after that particular moment, particularly when the one couple she didn't want to happen actually happened, she had stopped watching it. It didn't hurt, though, that every now and then, the show had a quote that she thought was applicable to her life. And it definitely fit with Lottie and trying to get the girl to really let loose and enjoy their final year in high school.

"But if you must know, I've been working on two different costumes. The second one's still not really ready, which is fine since I'm leaning towards the first, which is Queen Akasha from Queen of the Damned. It's the last time I probably get to have this much fun with this lot. Might as well show out." She said the last part on a wink as they neared the conference room. Lottie nudged her friend. "Unbelievable, here you come up with somethin' from a movie most people have never seen and I'm over her just thinking a costume that would look good on me." Charlotte ended their conversation there as the pair made their way to the back of the library. The blonde released Alex as she walked in to see Cliff, Vincent, and to her surprise, Brent Barclay, the single biggest pain in her ass. She smiled and waved towards the guys she could actually stand before making a sly remark towards the 'felon in waiting' as she called him. She knew he was going to start with her and if there was something she would never admit, it was she just loved beating him to the punch. "Wow, Barclay. You're at something for the school where you can't make money? I'm impressed." She didn't even make contact with him, she kept her eyes forward as she walked to take one of the seats in the front of the room, facing everyone else. She grabbed her Mac out of her PINK backpack along with her notebook for meetings, and her glasses.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-01 05:14:53, as written by M95

B R E N T ~ B A R C L A Y

Hex Code: #916F1A

C A S S I D Y ~ K N O X

Hex Code: #559434

Since he was sure it would be a couple of minutes until the room filled and the meeting started, Brent had opted to rest his head on his arms, which were positioned on the desk in front of him as a makeshift pillow. It was probably his most common position in school. His head somehow always found its way to his desk for a nice mid-class nap, and it wasn't uncommon to hear teachers have to say, "Head off of the desk, Mr. Barclay", or "Sit up during my class," multiple times throughout a class period. If only his head had been up when Charlotte Buchanan walked in, and he could have thought up a quick little comment to start off the meeting on the right note. Or at least the right note in his book. His head was down, though, and eyes shut, until he heard her voice which was hard to mistake for anyone else's, given that little accent she had. Quickly, he sat back up, but after processing her words,m he shook his head in pretend disappointment at her. "See, you all just witnessed her starting that one," he said, pointing in her direction as he looked around the room, before looking towards the females in the room. "You ladies elected someone with outstanding moral character, clearly." This was one of the few times that Charlotte actually tried to antagonize him, before he had a chance to do it to her, so it only seemed fitting to play the victim while he could, especially since it was in front of others.

"I know, she sucks. Word on the street was that the election was rigged," Cassidy responded with, knowing that no one aside her would agree with Brent, so her voice on the matter seemed necessary. She definitely didn't hate Charlotte, but like Brent, Cassidy liked giving her a hard time. Charlotte had a reputation of being Little Miss Perfect, and it was fun to ruffle her feathers sometimes. It kept things interesting, especially because Cassidy didn't think that Charlotte ever had it in her to defend herself. Her twin usually would be the one to step in to rebut any comments like this, or as Cassidy expected in this case, Alexandra would do it. The two of them had the big mouths that Charlotte lacked, and since comments from Alexandra and Charlotte's sister didn't bother Cassidy, she usually felt like her job was done even if they did have something to say. "Plus, I heard it was her idea to cancel the Egypt trip. Something about her blonde hair and that hillbilly accent making her stand out more than any of the rest of us." That was a completely fabricated statement, of course, but again, someone had to make this meeting interesting, and Cassidy knew that it wasn't about to be the southern belle and Mr. Model who were standing at the head of the room.

She had followed Brent into the conference room, and was glad that he had chosen a seat on the far side of the room, so that they had a good view of the door. She didn't need to see who was coming in for any particular reason, but she just preferred it that way. It had something to do with how much she valued control. Being able to see who she was dealing with offered her an advantage, in her mind. In addition to watching Charlotte and Alexandra come in, she was also able to see Sydney Persson and Katherine come in, a minute later. "And look, her comes Regina George and Gretchen Wieners. Boy, this meeting is about to be a whole lot of fun," she said sarcastically, though with a smirk, as she nudged Brent's arm.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-02 01:26:16, as written by royals

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Saint Jude's library (conference room)
Hex Code: #FF8C00
_______________________________________
ccccccccccccccccc"I'm not knocking that dream of yours, dude, but I don't know if sophisticated French girls are going to go for an American idiot like you. Maybe if you learn to play the harp, or how to paint or something cultural like that, they'll have a reason to give you the time of day. Not sure if boasting about lacrosse is really gonna cut it over there," Cliff reasoned playfully. It didn't surprise him at all that Vincent was taking sex into account when thinking about the place he wanted to visit the most. It wasn't like Cliff was celibate himself, but it seemed like Vincent fit the stereotypical teenage boy in literally only being able to think about sex, food and sports.

As people began to file in, he was somewhat surprised to see Brent Barclay and Cassidy Knox show up. He didn't know Cassidy very well, outside of being Katherine's step-sister, and though he did know Brent, it was only because he was his plug when it came to marijuana. Since Cliff's smoking habit had grown stronger over the summer, he would consider Brent more than an acquaintance at this point, but still not exactly a friend. They socialized when Cliff needed drugs and Brent needed money. Take that out of the occasion, and they would probably never look in the other's direction. Cliff was content with just nodding in Brent's direction, but he couldn't help but to smirk when Charlotte arrived and said what he, too, had been thinking. Charlotte's comment seemed to awaken the snarky beast in Brent, because he sent a remark flying back in her direction, and Cassidy was quick to jump on board. Especially as Cassidy began to attack Charlotte's character, Clifford felt the need to jump in to her defense, but he didn't know how. He didn't want to seem like Lottie needed a hero to come and fight her battles, especially when he knew that with people like Brent and Cassidy, responding to them fit the "feeding the trolls" saying perfectly. It would only agitate them further into being obnoxious, and that was the last thing that they needed at this meeting. "As you can see, we've already got a great crowd," Clifford said, turning to Charlotte with a sympathetic expression. "This shouldn't be too bad, though. I mean, with them it might be, but we just have to get a quick vote from the kids who show up, and then send the results to Dean Brooks, right? Easy as that, and it's already three now, so I don't think we have to wait for too many more people to show up. We can probably just start." He hoped it would be as easy as that. After this, he was planning on finally figuring out what to be for Halloween, so he didn't want to spend too much time at school after hours.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-02 01:58:36, as written by Thunder

B R E N T ~ B A R C L A Y

Hex Code: #916F1A

"I don't mind if she sucks, as long as she swallows too," Brent said, his smirk evident of how proud he was of the comment, though he didn't bother to look in Charlotte's direction as he answered Cassidy. He had seen Charlotte's cute, angry and flustered expression far too many times for it not to be an image that was ingrained in his mind. He looked towards the door when Cassidy made a reference to Mean Girls, but before he even did, he knew who she was talking about. He had never even seen the movie, but Cassidy referenced the characters enough when referring to the popular clan to know who she was talking about by now. He wasn't really concerned about Sydney. Like most people, for one reason or another, he had respect for her. She was the most popular girl in the teenage world of the Upper East Side, and so it was kind of just natural to see her as being high up. He respected her position of authority because that was just how things worked around here.

Katherine was still higher than him socially, but he felt closer to her in a sense where he didn't mind fucking with her then and now. Especially since he had dirt on her, ever since she started buying prescription weight loss pills off of him about a year ago. He liked having leverage over people, especially when those people were the kind who thought that they were better than him, simply because of their parents' money. "And Katherine's not Gretchen. She's the blonde one who's dumb as fuck. She has a nicer rack than Kitty Kat does, but she's still the closest version of her. What's that one's name?" This was why SGA meetings were fun. The unnecessary tangents and amusingly inappropriate remarks.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-02 07:25:10, as written by BurningBridges

K A T H E R I N E - A R N A U L T

Location: SGA meeting @ St. Jude's
Outfit: Here
Hex Color: #CF009F

Katherine had no plans of embarrassing Alexandra or making a scene, and though she felt compelled to inform Sydney of that, she only rolled her eyes when she knew that the blonde wasn't looking. She and Sydney were very close, and after practically growing up together, that was to be expected, but even so, there were certain things that Katherine still knew not to do to her blonde counterpart. Unlike Lexi, Kat often found that it was easier to keep her mouth shut around the blonde to avoid conflict, even if she did not agree with what Sydney was saying or doing. What she found harder to be passive about, though, was the comment that Cassidy made as she and Sydney entered the conference room, followed by Brent's followup retort. This wasn't the first time that people tried to use the Mean Girls comparison, and Kat didn't find it any more amusing over time than she did the first time she heard it. In a way, she almost understood how Sydney could be compared to Regina George. It was pretty obvious that she was the head of the social hierarchy at Constance, but when it came down to it, Sydney was a lot smarter, and more compassionate, and more manipulative, and deeper than Regina George was. If Sydney and Regina George existed in the same universe, Katherine thought that Regina George would aspire to be Sydney. However, she couldn't find any bit of logic to reason that she could be compared to either of Regina's friends in the movie, because their sole purpose was basically to act as the brainless followers of the Queen Bee. And for good reason, Katherine was offended by any comparison that showed her in that light. Sydney had warned against making a scene, and besides that, Katherine wasn't able to get into an argument with trash like Brent Barclay and her step-sister, so she offered Cassidy her middle finger, and Brent not even a glance, as she followed Sydney to seats by Alexandra.

She smiled at Charlotte, who looked even more studious than she normally did. Maybe it was the glasses, or just the library setting, Kat didn't know. Regardless, she took the seat right beside Alex and being beside her friend in itself had Katherine beaming with excitement. "Look at your BFFs, here to support you at your meeting thing!" she exclaimed, as if that were the sole reason for why they were here. "Did we miss anything? Did Charlotte announce that you guys are going to New Zealand yet?"

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-03 03:07:47, as written by Girl2Fine2

───────────────────────────

───────────────────────────
A L E X A N D R AX B O U T R O S
_____ T H EXO V E R A C H E I V E R _____

Outfit: Here
Location: Saint Jude's library (conference room)
Dialogue Color ✦ #E8ADAA
Thought Color ✧ #985D5A

Alexandra didn't initially comment nor acknowledge the shots Cassidy and Brent made towards Charlotte. The majority of the reasoning behind the inaction was because...well, as crass as Barclay could be, she kinda ~~selfishly~~ enjoyed his bantering with Charlotte. The blonde could tell her as many times as she wanted to that she felt absolutely nothing for the self-proclaimed bad boy, that he annoyed her to no end, and that she was disgusted with half of the things he said. At the end of the day, however, whenever Lottie decided to fill her head with that nonsense, all Alex ever heard was "blah blah suppression blah blah crush blah blah my best friend is in denial." Which she was. Lottie had a crush, no matter how much she wanted to say otherwise, and Alex...supported it, to an extent. Alex supported all of her friends having a little fun and to this day, she's vowed to get Lottie to hook up with someone, even if the hooking up only warranted making out and possibly groping. Alex wasn't exactly picky and if she was, she wasn't exactly saying it aloud. She definitely wasn't tying wedding bells around the blonde's neck, but it was the main reason why she only gave a knowing smirk to a distracted Charlotte and chuckled to herself as she made her way to a seat near the blonde.

She did speak up when Cassidy made the comment about Sydney and Katherine, though. "I guess I can see the Regina George and Mean Girls comparison. There's always that one hating ass chick borrowing The Grudge's makeup collection and harboring non-hetero-normative tastes," she noted, almost in a bored tone, as she finally rose her gaze to Cassidy. "No judgments, of course. I'm all for LGBTQIA rights. I am here for you, Knox, if you have a confession to make, of course." If she knew Cassidy's past with her sexuality, Alexandra wouldn't have made the comment, though her sentiments were actually genuine. She did support LGBTQIA rights, even got into a heated argument with her grandfather over the matter and called him on being a problematic traditionalist. Her slight insensitivity, had she known the other girl's past, would've upset even Alex for the other girl. But she wasn't all-knowing. Smiling, she turned to Katherine and Sydney when they came to sit beside her. "Hi, my darlings. We actually just got here, so nothing's been decided yet," she greeted cheerily and, after a second thought, leaned over the table to see Cliff and Vincent. "Hey, fellas." Finally, Alex made to actually take a seat, pulling out her planner and her own notebook while exclaiming, "And now if Danny Zuko and Betty Rizzo are done playing I-declare-a-who-can-get-the-biggest-rise-out-of-someone-in-the-room-war, we can actually come to a decision because if one more person tags us in a post on Twitter blaming us for this mess, I'm snapping."

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-03 03:54:29, as written by M95

C A S S I D Y ~ K N O X

Hex Code: #559434

"Karen Smith," Cassidy answered Brent, in a serious tone, as if she were actually trying to be informative. She tilted her head to the side though, feigning deep thought at the reference. "You're right about the two of them being comparatively brainless, but Karen is too blonde to be Kat. Plus, Kitty's got that whole 'I don't think my father, the inventor of toaster strudel, would be too pleased with this,' thing down to an art." Katherine flipping her off made her smile out of pure amusement, because it was a telltale sign that she had bothered her, but she opted not to continue to pick on her stepsister. For one, they lived together, so she could get her fill of that some other time, and secondly, Alexandra had addressed her, which, of course, demanded her attention. The other girl continued to talk though, but now to Sydney and Katherine, and then addressing the group as a whole, so Cassidy didn't feel the need (or have the time, in between the other girl's words) to address her directly. Instead, she turned to Brent, as if she hadn't heard Alexandra's last part about trying to get the meeting started, in exchange for ending this foolishness. "Maybe I should make my confession now, then. Tell her how I've had a crush on her for the longest time, because, you know, girls that live in Sydney Persson's shadow and spend their entire high school career trying oh-so-hard to break out of it, instead of just accepting it like Kitty Kat, turn me on sooooo much. Maybe after she finishes kissing Sydney's ass tonight, she can bring that ass into my bed. It's worth a shot to ask, don't you think?"

Though she wasn't in the closet about her bisexuality, it also wasn't something that she boasted about, so she doubted many people knew it about her. Alexandra's reference to her sexuality didn't hurt her like it would have a few years ago, when it was still something she felt insecure about, but it still bothered her. Even if Alex wanted to follow up the comment by claiming that she was supportive of the non-hetero community, the mere fact that she brought it up, as if it could be a tool of publicly humiliating her (or at least knocking her down a peg to shut her up), made Cassidy feel otherwise. Maybe Alex wasn't homophobic, but like many people in the world still, she wasn't quite as supportive as she thought she was. So, in what seemed like the only fair move, Cassidy had to fire back, even if it was indirect. Alex could take a low shot at her sexuality, and she would drill in the point that Alex was only relevant because of her friendship with Sydney Persson, no matter how hard she tried to make a name for herself otherwise.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-03 05:13:34, as written by M95

Location: St. Jude's School for Boys - Library
Hex Code: #858585
Outfit: School Uniform
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"The admiration of strong men is a universal thing, man. French girls have gotta love athletes, too. Besides, it's not like I don't have a way with my words, and at least according to American girls, this tongue of mine has got some rare skills of its own." He leaned back in his seat proudly, but it was only because he and Clifford were alone then, that he was engaging in such locker room talk. Vincent could be egotistical in front of anyone, but he had his boundaries, and one of the nicer things about him was that he knew how to make a good impression on people. He valued his image, so he knew that it was inappropriate to be that crass around people who he wasn't very close with, and so he allowed that conversation to quell once Cassidy and Brent entered, following by Alexandra and Charlotte. Cassidy and Brent's presence brought a liveliness of its own into the room. He wasn't good friends with either of them, but even he had he laugh at some of the things that came out of their mouths. They were weird, there was absolutely no doubt about that in his mind, but he could appreciate witty banter when he saw it. Plus, he couldn't blame Brent for wanting to engage in that kind of banter with Charlotte. He liked to think of himself at the master of sex, so he knew sexual tension when he saw it, and even if Charlotte seemed insistent on denying the presence of it, it most definitely existed between those two. If Brent managed to tap that, Vincent would give him credit for actually being worth more than being just a pretty good plug. Charlotte was as prude as they came, Vincent thought, so if Brent could manage to break through that, even though Charlotte was about ten levels too good for him, he deserved some props.

Cassidy, Brent and Charlotte were an entertaining distraction, and one that proved to be useful, because if it hadn't been for them, and Sydney and Kat's arrival, Vincent's eyes would have roved over Lexi for far longer than would be deemed appropriate by people who were just supposed to be friends now. Of course, to most who knew them, it was hard to say that they could ever go back to being "just friends" with the extensive history they had, but... he tried. Or at least he wanted to say he tried, because even though he knew that he should have been trying to see her as just a friend, he never told his brain to shut up as it listed all of the things that he was missing in his life, every time they crossed paths, or her name came up in conversation. Sometimes he reassured himself that he was just sentimental, and that was why it was so hard to fully let go of her after so long... that that was why she was always the first person on his mind when he was drunk and couldn't think coherently about anything other than her. At the same time, he knew that in reality, it was more likely that he wasn't as over her as he claimed to be. Getting over her seemed like an impossible task, and once she acknowledged him and Cliff with a hello, which he responded back to with a similar, Hey,", he found himself pulling out his phone just to text her.

To: Lexi
I'll follow your no-more-interruptions request, but before I forget, my mom wants you to pick a night next week and a restaurant so we can take you out to dinner for your birthday. You know I want to take you out separately too, but I'll take just a family oriented one if that's all you'll give me ;)

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-04 03:56:16, as written by royals

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Saint Jude's library (conference room)
Hex Code: #FF8C00
_______________________________________
cccccccccccccccccAs more people came in, Clifford made sure to say hello to them all, but he was ready to start as soon as Charlotte said that she was ready. And of course, Charlotte wouldn't be Charlotte if she wasn't prepared for everything, and Clifford had to smile as she handed him the notes she had made about each trip. It should have been a no-brainer for him to at least bring the itineraries that the Dean had sent him and Charlotte, but he hadn't thought to do that. Charlotte's notes were concise and to the point, which was an even better option, so he definitely lucked out there. He probably would have been fine just winging it, and going off of what he remembered, like he normally did, but actually being prepared was cool too. Since he didn't care either way, whether he spoke or she did, he figured that he would just do it. That way, at least there was a smaller chance of Cassidy or Brent interrupting to make a comment about how they couldn't understand Charlotte because of her accent, or something obnoxious like that. "Sounds good. I'll explain it all, and then you can take the reins for the vote, so that if the vote doesn't go the way someone wants it to, you can take the blame for the 'rigged system'," he said, teasingly.

He cleared his throat before starting, and once the room was quiet enough where his voice could be heard, he began. "Hey guys. So, thanks for coming. We know the last minute cancellation of the Egypt trip sucks, but there's not really anything we can do about it now, other than push for it to be our spring trip. Right now, we want to focus on the fall though, so I'm going to give you all a brief outline of what the three options we have are, and after I explain all three, Charlotte will tally up a vote. It shouldn't take long, since we know you all have places to be, so, yeah." It wasn't the most formal of introductions, but it would do. "The first option is South Island, New Zealand. Administration thought it would be interesting to include a bit of an outdoorsy, adventure-ish themed option to test out for future years, so that's kind of what this one focuses on. The main academic aspect of the trip would be spending a few hours for one or two of the days at the Mount John University Observatory, which is an astronomical research observatory there. Aside from that, we would visit Queenstown where we can participate in adreline-pumping activities like a bungy jump, canyon swing and jet boat ride; kayak in Franz Josef past ancient rainforests, 900 year-old Kahikatea tree's and the Okarito Kiwi Sanctuary; skydive over Lake Wanaka; do a heli-hike on a glacier in Franz Josef; and take the Tranz Alpine Express train, among other things."

"The second option is Paris, France. Here, we would visit Château de Versailles, the Notre Dame cathedral, the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Sainte Chapelle, Conciergerie, Napoleon's tomb, and a bunch of other museum/history based things. I do feel the need to point out that most of the days' itineraries here offer 'free time', for those of you who might want to include other things in the trip." He was sure that all three options would offer some dose of freedom, since their schools were pretty good about acknowledging that by senior year, the students were nearly adults, if you weren't legally already, and it was time to give them some freedom. However, the fact that the Paris trip explicitly offered a few hours of free time each evening seemed noteworthy, since it offered an opportunity for people to try out restaurants, or go shopping, or, as Vincent was already fantasizing about, do less innocent things.

Two down, one to go, and as Clifford took a quick glance around the room, trying to survey expressions, he couldn't tell what people were thinking. Since he felt pretty impartial about it himself, deciding that he could make the most out of any trip, he didn't particularly care which way the crowd's vote swayed, but he was still curious. "And last, but not least, is Berlin, Germany. Key points in the itinerary for this one would be visiting the dome of the Reichstag, the Holocaust memorial, Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie, Neues Museum Pergamonmuseum, shopping in Friedrichstadtpassagen, taking a river cruise... and a bunch of other things that I don't think I really need to list, since I doubt that most of us understand what these German words even mean." He doubted that anyone would understand what he was talking about, yeah, but also, he wanted to quit sounding like a fool trying to sound out these words that he, for the life of him, had no idea if he was saying correctly or not. He had taken Spanish classes throughout his academic career, so if they were heading to Barcelona or Madrid, he would have been a bit more comfortable with trying to pronounce the words, but with Germany, he was content on just assuming that they were all museums and leaving it at that.

Once he finished, he looked to Charlotte with a smile, as if to hand the figurative microphone to her.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-04 08:08:20, as written by StarStruck

╚ THE QUEEN BEE ╝

♛

Hex Code: #209DC7
________________________________________Sydney didn't have to worry about Katherine making a scene, because she didn't think that the brunette, even on her worst day, could compare to how utterly disruptive Cassidy Knox and Brent Barclay were behaving now. Sydney understood that their role and position on the social ladder was essentially to be troublesome. They were those weird freaks, the outcasts, of sorts, who simply could not blend into normal society. They couldn't just sit down and accept that they were lackluster and sorry excuses of people, so they had to make big scenes and be disorderly, to distract people from just how bland and irrelevant they really were. Although she would consider herself to be familiar with how boys like Brent worked, she was more fluent in Cassidy's mechanisms. Although she and Katherine had only resided together for a few months, Sydney spent enough time with Katherine to understand why her friend rejected this girl as a family member. She was very difficult, and though, often, the same could be said of Katherine, Cassidy was different. She didn't have the same charm and innocence that Katherine had, so there was nothing cute, or endearing, or sympathy-provoking when Cassidy made scenes like this. In fact, all it did was add unnecessary stress to Sydney's life, and as her mother liked to tell her every time she had one too many glasses of Dom Perignon, developing wrinkles prematurely would ruin her life. She didn't need Cassidy to be the source of that; not when she should be far too irrelevant to hold even a sliver of importance in Sydney's life.

For a moment, Sydney opted to say nothing, and not acknowledge the girl or her druggie of a best friend. She didn't want to egg them on, and again, Sydney felt like her attention was a priceless gift that she couldn't just give to anyone who begged for it. She said nothing as the duo made fun of Katherine's intelligence, even as Alexandra stepped in to quiet them down. It was probably a good example, there, of how she and Alex were different. Lexi could be very direct, and very cut-throat, and though Sydney could be very harsh in her own right, a lot of the time, that only showed when she felt like she was being personally attacked. It didn't mean that she loved Katherine any less than Alexandra did. It was just that with Sydney, she showed things differently, and sometimes, not at all. Emotions weren't her strong point, and though she wasn't emotionally equivalent to a brick wall, she certainly was selfish, sometimes. It was harder for her to feel like other people's feelings were as important as hers, and that was something that tended to shine through a lot between her and Katherine. Katherine was sensitive and emotional, and because of that, Sydney had a tendency to dismiss her when she was upset or angry as simply being dramatic. It wasn't fair, of course. Just because Katherine felt things more deeply than she did, didn't mean that the other girl's feelings were any less valid, but sometimes, it was hard for Sydney to acknowledge that. Alexandra's presence usually did the trick though, because as bad as it was, it usually woke up that more competitive side of her. She loved Lexi like a sister, there was no mistaking that, but between Katherine and Alexandra, Alexandra was the one who was more similar to her in a lot of mental ways. Feeling like someone was close to her in anything always brought about a bit of a competitive air, so whenever Alex stepped in to be a good friend to Katherine when Sydney was lacking, it usually reminded her to be a better person too. Some would probably say that that meant that the goodness was unauthentic, and that it didn't count, and maybe that was true. It was more likely, though, that it just took a bit of reminding for her to remember that the world didn't revolve around her. She did care, and she was a good friend, when her mind wasn't focusing on its own self-preservation.

Though Sydney thought that Cassidy would quiet herself after Alexandra's well-worded interjection, she was mistaken. The brunette did not directly respond to Lexi, but spoke to Brent in a way that was loud enough that it was easy to tell that she intended for the words to reach Alexandra's ears. Maybe if Sydney's name hadn't been thrown into the mix, she could have continued to ignore them, and reject her friendship duties twice in a matter of minutes, but she didn't like the path that Cassidy was going down. Lately, things between her and Lexi had been really good, and even if Cassidy didn't know what her comments would automatically force Sydney to think about; that betrayal, and the aftermath of that, Sydney was still brought back to that, and she didn't want Alex to be, too. "Simmer down, Janice. Bitter isn't a color that looks good on even the most depressingly pathetic people," Sydney piped up, her eyes fixating on the brunette, though her gaze remained rather bored and uninterested appearing, over harsh. Again, Cassidy just wasn't worth that much emotion right now. Not when she wasn't directly insulting Sydney.

Even once Cliff took over and started talking, though, Sydney didn't remove her gaze from Cassidy. She allowed her eyes to linger on the girl's face for a solid minute before she pulled them away and focused on Clifford. Skydiving and bungee jumping actually sounding cool to Sydney, but she didn't know if she wanted to go all the way to New Zealand to do that. She knew the trip would be more than that, but still... nearly a day's worth of travel time, each way, for what Clifford had listed didn't seem worth it. Mostly because Berlin just seemed like the more boring of the two options left, she decided that Paris might be the more enjoyable trip. It was a destination that was overdone in her life, but she knew that with her girls, she could spin it into being a good time regardless.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-04 22:46:17, as written by BurningBridges

K A T H E R I N E - A R N A U L T

Location: SGA meeting @ St. Jude's
Outfit: Here
Hex Color: #CF009F

Katherine did her best to ignore both Cassidy and Brent, as they continued to antagonize her. They were both pains in her ass, but she knew that she couldn't outwit them without putting real thought into it, and she didn't want to embarrass herself by trying and failing. She would get back at Cassidy later on, when she spent the evening complaining to her father about how she was being bullied by his new stepdaughter. Thankfully, Alexandra stepped up to shut Cassidy up, but all it did was egg Cassidy on to antagonize Alex now. Katherine knew that if she wasn't confident in defending herself, she wasn't going to do a good job at defending Alex, but she would surely add that to the list of her complaints to read off to her father that night. Sydney spoke up then, and though it wasn't as stinging of a comment as Katherine knew Sydney could come up with, combined with Clifford's voice, it seemed to silence Cassidy and Brent for the moment, and Katherine focused her attention on the boy at the head of the table, too.

All it took was Clifford mentioning "outdoorsy" for Katherine to decide that New Zealand was no longer the best option on the list. She didn't think that kayaking, and bungee jumping, and going for a hike sounded very enjoyable. Katherine could get on board for some outdoor activities, depending on the circumstance, but being forced to do them, especially in a situation where they sounded like they would be extreme and force her to exert effort, didn't sound very fun. Paris was the next choice, and overall, sounded better than the first one. A lot of the more touristy things that he listed were places that she had already been to, and the ones that she had not visited were ones that were more history related, so it made sense that she had never had any interest in visiting them to begin with. Even with those sounding boring, the prospect of having free time was hopeful sounding. Katherine was very well versed in the best places to shop, and get dinner, and party in Paris, so she knew that she could find something fun to do. Berlin sounded more bearable than New Zealand, but it definitely sounded like the most boring option.

Once it was time to vote, she was going to vote for Paris, but at the same time, she still doubted that she would even attend the trip. For one, she was sure that the money for the trip had already been collected, and as far as she knew, her father hadn't paid a dime towards it. This, of course, was not the case, as her father had secretly filled out the forms to send her to Egypt. Although her interest in visiting Paris with the school definitely surpassed her interest in seeing Egypt, the issue that she didn't want to travel with the school remained. Traveling on her own, with friends or family, was one thing, because she could dictate her own schedule. If she wasn't having a good time, she could literally fly back home with only a few hours notice. She knew that the same wouldn't apply on a school trip, and for her, there were so many things that could go wrong to make her want to return home. If the weather wasn't good, or she was forced to do too many boring things, or everyone decided to eat at a restaurant that she didn't like, she was going to be miserable. It was dramatic, but that was how Katherine worked, and especially now, after recently leaving treatment, she was nearly obsessed with the routine she had established in her life. Upsetting that, and having no control over it, could prove to be devastating to her, and she didn't want to break out of that comfort zone just yet. "Now that we're avoiding you two getting kidnapped in Egypt, we definitely don't need your parachutes to fail in New Zealand when you're skydiving, so that's definitely off the list. You guys would probably be safe in Paris though, unless more of that terrorist stuff happens... but I could even just take off from school and go to Paris too, and we can just meet up at night and do fun stuff," she whispered to Alex and Sydney, once Clifford finished.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-05 00:23:20, as written by Girl2Fine2

───────────────────────────

"Promises, promises," Alexandra sing-songed cheerily, smile ever present despite Cassidy's comeback resulting in a slight sting to Alexandra's pride. While Alex could tell herself that she was capable of seeming unaffected and unbothered by another person's opinions of her person, specifically when their aim was to undermine her social relevance or even successes, it did not mean that she didn't feel it. Alexandra wouldn't exactly classify herself within the same tier as Katherine, in that she would react on almost insane levels like getting close to a fit of tears and claiming that she was being bullied, but she could never lie about being a sensitive creature. She was. And considering the fact that she knew there were others who also felt like she hadn't accepted the fact that she was forever second place to Sydney Persson despite Alex's own following and tolerable reputation, she couldn't hide the way her eyes narrowed into slits even when Sydney dismissively acknowledged Cassidy and Cliff began to talk. Luckily for everyone, since Alex had half the mind to say something else as she hated not having the last word, her phone vibrated in her bag and she pulled it out, still listening to what Cliff had to say.

Alexandra was great at putting on a show. She could appreciate the dramatics and convincing people that she felt an entirely different way from her actual sentiments. It was one of the reasons why she couldn't wait for her birthday bash as the performer - the diva, as her grandfather consistently and endearingly joked - in her reveled in the idea of portraying, at least physically, a character played by a superstar she had admired despite Aaliyah's untimely passing. So, when it came down to having to tell everyone that she was over Vincent and was just appreciative of being able to want to at least revive their friendship - especially considering she had known him longer than she had known anyone else in their circle - Alexandra had become extremely skilled in playing her part. She acted unfazed when she saw him flirting with another girl (though there was no mistaking that being the reason behind why she decided to make out with someone else or drink a few more shots of tequila), didn't hesitate to show him the same amount of affection she traditionally showed to all of her male friends, and it wasn't uncommon for her to invite him to come hang out at her penthouse or visit him at his apartment for video games or a movie marathon. It didn't mean it was easy, didn't mean that she had forgotten what it felt like to sit comfortably under his arm in a way that was too intimate to be considered friendly. None of it meant that she had forgotten what he tasted like or even that she didn't compare some of the guys she had been with to Vincent. But she was determined to continue to play this part - this very safe role in which Vincent couldn't hurt her again like before. Even if he managed to phrase simple things like taking her out for her birthday alone like it was supposed to mean something...because it wasn't.

Right?

To: Vince
I'll txt Collie tonite. But u kno I'd hang w/ u any time. Especially if Im gettin treated lol.

Glancing at the male in question fleetingly from beneath her lashes, Alex closed the conversation on her phone just as Katherine whispered to both herself and Sydney. She didn't necessarily hide her relationship with Vincent from the girls, and she was definitely more comfortable with being in the same place as Sydney and Vincent without throwing a mental bitch fit because she had decided to interpret looks as something she needed to be worried about. But it was no secret that Kat disliked him and despite their very positive relationship with Sydney as of lately, them seeing her texting him and being able to discern any hint of something more than platonic meant a conversation Alexandra didn't want to have. Especially when she was supposed to be over Vincent by now. Smirking, she turned to her brunette friend for a moment to whine very quietly, "But I like endangering my life, mom. Maybe I can get super rebellious and get a tattoo during our down time and FaceTime you through it."

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-05 09:40:31, as written by .euphoria.

Her outfit || Location: || Mood: Annoyed || Hex color: #45C3B8

"Sounds good. I'll explain it all, and then you can take the reins for the vote so that if the vote doesn't go the way someone wants it to, you can take the blame for the 'rigged system'," She rolled her eyes before nudging him. "Yea, let's hurry before you become this school's next Nixon, or Clinton, or somethin'." The blonde turned her attention to Alex who started talking to Cassidy who was making comments towards Kat and Sydney. She wasn't really listening see that she had her own business to take care including not letting Barclay get to her. She had a smirk on her face as she put two of her freshly done nails to her temple, staring towards her best friend. "I guess I can see the Regina George and Mean Girls comparison. There's always that one hating ass chick borrowing The Grudge's makeup collection and harboring non-hetero-normative tastes," That caught Charlotte so off guard that she caught herself letting out a cough before covering her mouth to hide her smile. Here's another way Lottie and Alex differed. Charlotte could make snarky comments but, they came nowhere near Alex's who's always caught the blonde off guard. "No judgments, of course. I'm all for LGBTQIA rights. I am here for you, Knox, if you have a confession to make, of course." When Charlotte was sure her smirk was gone she uncovered her mouth but turned her glance from the wooden table to her best friend yet again. "Alex, c'mon now." That was her way of trying to call her friend off. She didn't know if Cassidy was a part of the LGBTQIA or whatever it was called nowadays and frankly, she didn't really care to know right now. Her and Cliff wanted to get this done so people would stop breathing down their necks. "And now if Danny Zuko and Betty Rizzo are done playing I-declare-a-who-can-get-the-biggest-rise-out-of-someone-in-the-room-war, we can actually come to a decision because if one more person tags us in a post on Twitter blaming us for this mess, I'm snapping."

"Maybe I should make my confession now, then. Tell her how I've had a crush on her for the longest time, because, you know, girls that live in Sydney Persson's shadow and spend their entire high school career trying oh-so-hard to break out of it, instead of just accepting it like Kitty Kat, turn me on sooooo much. Maybe after she finishes kissing Sydney's ass tonight, she can bring that ass into my bed. It's worth a shot to ask, don't you think?" Charlotte took a deep breath "Simmer down, Janice. Bitter isn't a color that looks good on even the most depressingly pathetic people," Sydney interjected. Charlotte was confused on what made everyone start bringing up Mean Girls references. Lottie rolled her blue eyes towards the situation, okay she had known she probably didn't help the situation at first with starting with Brent but that was different. He was a pain, a neverending, obnoxious pain in her ass. She stood up, looking like an amazon compared to everyone sitting down, and fix her long form-fitting skirt to get rid of the wrinkles that had settled in since she had sat down. She knew everyone wasn't really paying attention so she let out a small whistle to get the attention of those in the room who were too enticed by the conversation between Alex and Cassidy to be paying attention. "Okay, everyone I think that's enough. If you all don't mind I think Cliff and I are ready to get started." She smiled towards Cliff before sitting down, crossing her legs and looking up at the male president. She listened to him as he explained everything and smiled with a wave towards the seniors when he started she would be keeping track of votes.

She wasn't listening as well as she should have about the places but in her opinion, she knew these things, she and Cliff had known what they would be doing on the trips not to mention Charlotte already made up her mind. Anyone could assume she wanted Paris. It was cultured, lively, romantic, and she had family in Paris that she had been dying to see since her last show in Paris over four months prior. But she was paying attention enough to hear Cliff try to pronounce all of the German names. She smiled before Cliff motioned towards her. She returned his smile before sitting up in her chair. "Alright guys, so in order to keep it anonymous and fair, and so no one is influenced by anyone else. I decided in favor of keeping things simple and so Cliff and I don't need to count all of them by hand that we would do it online. So get out your phones and go on the link that I'm sending to all of the seniors here about," She stopped talking for a second as she typed in the last name of the seniors in the room and mass emailed them the link which led to a SurveyMonkey, a website that Lottie used whenever she needed a mass opinion from the school within a short amount of time. It was easier, it made the votes all go in three separate columns so all she had to do was make sure they were all accounted for. "Now. Alright, ya'll go ahead and get voting." She also sent in her vote and then just waited.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-07 03:46:14, as written by royals

C L I F F . P A R K E R

Location: Saint Jude's library (conference room)
Hex Code: #FF8C00
_______________________________________
cccccccccccccccccClifford inched closer to Charlotte's computer screen once the links were sent out, and people started voting. He watched as the tally increased, and increased, and increased, until the twenty three votes of the students in the room had been accounted for. There were twelve votes for Paris, eight for New Zealand, and three for Berlin. Though there were many other students attending the chosen trip, the votes of the ones who had made the effort to attend the meeting today were the only ones that counted. While Clifford wasn't bothered by the idea of going to Paris, it reminded him that he needed to make a bigger effort in getting more of the Saint Jude's guys involved in student government. He was sure that if more of the action and adventure loving guys were here, they would have outweighed the vote in New Zealand's favor, but that was only something he could work on for the future. For now, Paris was the outcome, and he was content with that too. There was a lot to see and do in Paris, and even though Clifford had been there before, it wasn't like he had even seen half of the things there that he had read off a minute before. Given his easygoing nature, it wasn't difficult for him to have a good time anywhere, anyway. Besides, watching Vincent get rejected in a language besides English was always entertaining.

"All right, so it looks like the winner here is Paris, guys. Paris got eleven votes, New Zealand got eight, and Berlin got three. Even if Paris wasn't your top choice, I'm sure we'll all have a good time. Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure they were talking about booking rooms at the Four Seasons there, if Paris was chosen, so it should be cool. But, yeah, unless Charlotte has anything else to add, or anyone has any questions, I think we're good to go. Thanks for coming." Like his introduction, his conclusion was pretty informal, but Clifford saw nothing wrong with that. There were some people who thrived on being prepared and having things planned to the T, and other people, like him, who liked to roll with the punches and make things up as they went along. No longer addressing the crowd, and instead, speaking in a more hushed tone, he elbowed Vincent with a grin. "Looks like you got your wish, Mast. As long as you don't come back as a father-to-be, I guess being your wingman across the pond could be fun."

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-07 07:54:15, as written by BurningBridges

╚ THE QUEEN BEE ╝

♛

Hex Code: #209DC7
________________________________________

K A T H E R I N E - A R N A U L T

Location: SGA meeting @ St. Jude's
Outfit: Here
Hex Color: #CF009F

________________________________________"I'd rather you get a tattoo in France then be buried in the desert of Egypt, so I support that. And that's totally unfair to act like I'm doing Sydney's job when you know I like my Lexi just how she is, rebellion and all," Katherine whispered back, acting slightly offended by Alex's reference in jest, to her acting like a mother. She liked to claim that normally, it was Sydney who did that, because the blonde was usually the most emotionally grounded of the group. She was the least reckless, and in Katherine's mind (though she would probably only say it when drunk), she was the most likely one out of the three of them to transform into "the fun police" in a split second, too.

As always, Sydney got her way. She was relieved that she didn't have to go through any drastic measures this time to get her way, but she knew that if her peers had been so idiotic as to choose any of the options other than Paris, in numbers that equaled a majority, that she simply would have had to do something about it. For the good of everyone, of course. "You won't have to Facetime her through it, she's coming with us," Sydney said. The other reason for why she wouldn't have to use Facetime to show Katherine any impulsive tattoos was because Sydney absolutely would not allow Alex to get one. She would give her a hard time about trying to do it in New York, but overseas, on a school trip, nonetheless, would likely have Sydney on the phone with Alexandra's mother, even considering that she was well aware of the mommy-issues that Lexi had with the woman. It was low, given that Sydney and Alex had basically bonded over sharing those kinds of problems, but it probably wasn't a stretch to say that she would go to that extent to protect Alex... (and her own control). Before Katherine could object, she held up a finger to silence her, as she continued. "You have absolutely no good reason not to come to the country that you vacation in ten times a year. You're coming, and that's the end of that." Sydney stood from her seat now, ready to leave with the vote being done, and her decision being final on Katherine coming on their school trip. After she had abandoned them all summer, even if it was for a very understandable reason, Sydney had little patience for her trying to bail on anything.

"Now that that's settled, what do we have on the agenda for the afternoon, ladies? Tennis? Shopping? Last minute details for the extraordinary party that I'm expecting on Saturday? My schedule for the afternoon is clear, and you both know that Sydney Persson does not enjoy boredom." The self righteous tone that she took as she spoke was only playful. Sydney could definitely tip toe on the line of having a holier-than-thou attitude sometimes, but it would never come across in such a brazen manner, because most of the time, when she wasn't doing it jokingly, she didn't even realize that she was doing it.

Katherine didn't answer Sydney when she claimed that Kat had no choice but to come to France. Katherine would agree with Sydney on a lot of things, just because it was easier to do that than to fight, but there were also numerous occasions when she would agree with Sydney, or at least not object, but then do what she wanted to do, secretly, anyway. She was going to think about going to France, and if she decided that it seemed like an okay idea, she would go. Otherwise, she would remain in New York, and nothing that even Sydney could say, would change her mind on that. So, Katherine stood as well, only to pause to glance at her phone as Thylane's message appeared. After reading it, she said, "Thylane wants to hang out. Can she come with us to whatever we do?"

Sydney offered Katherine a second to retract her request, and gave the brunette a quick glance before deciding that that was enough time, and Katherine clearly wasn't joking. "Okay, Lexi, what's on the agenda for us this afternoon, then?" Could Sydney have simply told Katherine that no, she didn't want Thylane coming along? Yes. She could have explained simply and nicely why she wasn't in the mood to socialize with people who she did not like, and why Thylane fell into that category. However, that would have been the mature thing to do, and apparently, Sydney wasn't in that mood today. She was in the mood where she needed to make it known that she wasn't even going to acknowledge "absurd" requests or changes to the plan... even though the plan was far from final right now. It was a control issue and yes, it was definitely in high-gear today. Sydney wasn't exactly a fan of herself when she got like this, but it was hard for her to turn off, and she liked to convince herself that it wasn't her fault that certain people had to make life difficult for her, and in turn, themselves.

She knew that she didn't say anything wrong, but if Sydney was going to be rude today, then that was fine, Katherine thought. She would still send Alexandra about a million texts throughout the course of the afternoon ranting about how mean Sydney was, but she wasn't going to beg to join them if Sydney was going to spend the day being nasty. Some would probably find it strange, how Sydney could turn this harsher side of her on and off, at the click of a button. One moment, she was a great friend, and fun to be around, and the next, she was downright mean. Interestingly enough, Katherine wasn't even really being dramatic in her claims that Sydney only really did it to her. Or at the very least, she never seemed to do it to Alexandra to the same extent that Katherine received it. "Fine, I'll hang out with her on my own then," Katherine answered with a huff and a glare, as she slowly walked towards the door while typing back to Thylane.

To: Thylane
Yeah come over in like 20

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-08 07:20:38, as written by M95

Location: St. Jude's School for Boys - Library
Hex Code: #858585
Outfit: School Uniform
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although Vincent didn't show it, opting to play calm, cool and collected when Alexandra answered his text, inside, he was beaming. While she was playing it casual and referencing how she was always down to hang out with him, which wasn't far from true, he hoped that she knew that this was a request to do something different. He wasn't even looking to get in bed with her. All he wanted was a formal dinner... a date. He didn't think that that meant she was going to give him another chance, per se, but at the very least, it would be a start. Potentially a start to something, and potentially not, but either way, he was glad that she seemed on board with it. Now, he just had to figure out where to take her to make the night special and perfect. There were countless amazing restaurants in Manhattan, so the selection wasn't going to be a problem, but it was going to take a bit of planning on his part to get everything just right.

To: Lexi
Perfect. Text me when you know your schedule for next week, and let me know when you're free so I can make reservations.

Vincent was glad that when the votes were counted, his choice, Paris, came out on top. As he looked around at the reactions, it seemed like most of his friends were satisfied as well, which was nice, and luckily, Clifford seemed to have warmed up to the idea by the time that he addressed him playfully. "See, I knew you'd come around," he smirked at his friend, before continuing to say, "But don't worry, I'll save some time to be your wingman too. I'll get the hot chick, and you can bang her semi-decent looking, very insecure and easy best friend. It'll be a win-win for all four of us." Brent came over then, asking to speak with Clifford in private. Vincent could only assume that it was either drug related, or possibly had something to do with Brent not being able to afford the trip, and trying to discuss some SGA payment plan or something with the class president. In case that was the reality of it, Vincent decided against making things more awkward and sticking around, and instead, said goodbye to Clifford, tossed his backpack over his shoulder, and headed towrds the door. As he made it towards the door, he neared Sydney and Alexandra, who had been sitting at the other side of the table. Katherine was a few steps ahead, already heading out the door, so he knew he wouldn't be glared at for saying hi to the girls. "You two ready to teach Paris how us New Yorkers do things? Don't tell me you were two of the three bores who voted for Berlin, now. I'd expect better from you two."

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-09 02:38:31, as written by Girl2Fine2

───────────────────────────

───────────────────────────
A L E X A N D R AX B O U T R O S
_____ T H EXO V E R A C H E I V E R _____

Outfit: Here
Location: Saint Jude's Library
Dialogue Color ✦ #E8ADAA
Thought Color ✧ #985D5A

Alex grinned at Kat's response, but it was Sydney's insistence that the brunette was going that made Alexandra giggle softly. Katherine would probably fight tooth and nail to not go on a trip, for whatever reasons that she decided to come up with (and being sick always seemed to be her go-to, even when she wasn't particularly good at acting like she was), but she had no doubt that Sydney could force the girl out. They both could, really. But Alex could accept that she indulged Kat's brattier antics a lot more than Sydney, a surprising feat considering it was Katherine who was the oldest of them. There was no real reason for Kat not to go. They were all going to be there and hopefully were roommates, if not only a door or two down from one another. She was honestly resisting the trip for nothing. So, giggling, Alexandra beamed in approval at the location selection, nodding to Charlotte afterwards while chirping, "I'll have the announcement up on all of our accounts by midnight." She even wiggled her fingers upon Casssidy's exclamation and exit, not at all bothered by the brunette's attitude. To be quite honest, if Cassidy didn't even come on the trip because of how absolutely angry she was over them not picking her location, Alex would be nothing short of pleased. Now, on some days, Alexandra really did leave to go with Charlotte, whether it was the two of them and the blonde's sister doing homework at the girls' place or Lottie just coming over (and spending the night) to do the same and hang out. However, today wasn't going to be that day, especially once Sydney asked about their evening plans. Jotting down a few notes in both her planner and notebook as reminders for the posts she needed to make, Alex put her things away, slid out of the chair, and was on her feet while grinning. "Weeeelllll, I do have a few last minute things I need to do for my very extraordinary birthday party, but nothing I can't really do until tomorrow. Just a cake tasting and a few tidbits for my costume...which reminds me..." Alex turned her attention to Charlotte, who was putting her stuff away. She pointed at the blonde as she stated, "And I'm sooooooo serious, angel face. I love you to the moon and back, but you have until tomorrow to change your mind about that costume because you're coming home with me tomorrow and I promise you, I will have something ready for your ass on Saturday if you try me." After school tomorrow, and whatever plans they might have in the city, Alexandra was going back to her childhood home to oversee the finishing touches of the decorations, catering, and whatnot of her birthday bash. It wouldn't be the first time she had dragged Charlotte to the estate; the blonde had a bedroom of her home at both homes, though they occasionally wound up knocked out together in Alexandra's bedroom.

Alexandra checked back into the conversation with her girls when Sydney turned the question specifically to her and her eyes widened, darting between the sullen expression forming on Katherine's face and the pointed one on Sydney's. Alex flipped her hair over her shoulder as Katherine practically stomped away and she chuckled at Sydney after a beat. "Did ya have to shut her down that hard, babe?" She asked lightly, though she wasn't really feeling as passionate about what she caught on to as the basis of the conversation. The her must have been Thylane and Alex liked the girl, a lot more than she did a few of their classmates. She respected her, even. But Katherine knew for a fact that the other brunette didn't mesh well with Sydney and while Alex definitely thought Sydney could chill sometimes, it was naive for Kat to even remotely put in her own head the idea of all of them hanging out together. Even if Alex served as a buffer. "But in all honesty, I've been greedy this week and tennis sounds great. My trainer won't have to give me a look on Monday when I actually tell him that I worked out without him." They were headed towards the door when Alex recalled that it had buzzed back at the table, so she pulled it out in time for the very person who texted her to approach them. Smiling softly at the message, Alex glanced up at him, smile still soft, to giggle and reply, "Puh-lease! You know me, Berlin was my last choice."

───────────────────────────

───────────────────────────
R I C A R D OX S L I M
_____ T H EXK I N GXB E E _____

Outfit: Here
Location: Saint Jude's Entrance
Dialogue Color ✦ #C35817
Thought Color ✧ #730800

"We should probably start heading out now," Ricky stated, fixing his tie loosely back around his neck. Tongue shooting out to dart over his lower lip slowly, he grinned as he continued, "With our luck, I missed that meeting and you have suicides to run for being late for practice. I do not think Coach Graham is going to be happy with this." Though, if they were both being quite honest, Ricky didn't really care. To be fair, he had been on his way, like the good little student who cared about things like school trips and the like, to the conference room. He was going to have politely allowed his classmates to argue their points across and even not cut people off; he was a chilled person, after all. He didn't necessarily like to show his more...abrasive qualities, at least not without them having been incited. He was then going to give his opinion and then afterwards, he and his guys were going to do some much needed guy time, perhaps at his place, or see if there was somewhere in Manhattan they wanted to go. He had every intention of being good. He wouldn't exactly say that it was his fault that one of his favorite little cheer bunnies, Siobhan, dragged him into one of the very empty classrooms on the third floor to have her wicked way with him. He had been seduced and Siobhan was a wickedly cute face with a nice body. Who was he but Ricardo Slim-Helú! He wasn't of the mind to deny himself the simple pleasures in life. Especially when the thrilling fear of possibly getting caught was an option, especially since he himself couldn't remember locking the door.

Giggling, Siobhan pulled her skirt down from where it had rucked up recklessly over her waist when he had had her bent over one of the desks in the back of the room. "But totally worth it," she purred, kissed him lightly on the mouth again, and then sauntering towards the door first. Ricky would have just walked out together, but apparently she wanted to pretend like she had a smidgen of good girl sensibilities inside of her, so she had said she would leave first. It didn't really matter, at this point. His shirt was a bit too wrinkled and his tie too loose for anyone to think he hadn't been up to something, and he didn't even feel like putting on the navy blazer just to put on the illusion of being put together. While he waited for a few minutes, Ricky whipped out his cell and decided to text his friends to see where they were. And to mess with one of his favorite blondes. Once those were sent, he was heading out of the classroom, grinning at the look of disapproval he caught from a freshman professor since he was pretty sure it meant that they weren't as slick as Siobhan wanted to be, and headed towards the entrance of his school to wait for replies.

To: Madam President
So srry u had to miss mi presence, bby grl. U come 2 a decision on the trip yet?

To: Vince, Cliff
Starving. I'll wait outside, but if we're hangin out, food is the next stop.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-10 00:15:18, as written by royals

Hey, Upper East Siders; Gossip Girl here.

Since the class presidents didn't do a great job at luring most of you in for that very important meeting, let me break the news to you that all of you lovely seniors will be heading to The City of Love in a few weeks. With a moniker like that, Gossip Girl can only hope that some of you will leave your mundane selves in The Big Apple, and embrace a more scandalous side once you reach France. For those of you too young, too old, or too poor to make the trip with us, don't worry. As long as Gossip Girl is on the case, what happens in Paris certainly won't stay there.

If the atmosphere of this meeting says anything, Gossip Girl would be willing to bet on a few fun, little scenarios panning out. This trip is either going to reconnect or ruin our old lovebirds, Prince Charming and The Overachiever, and with our adored Queen Bee and The Drama Queen that we love to hate tagging along for the ride too, Gossip Girl places her money on the trip ruining their chances for good. What might be even more fun than that, though, would be seeing the Class President herself finally do something that would allow us to stop snoring at her mere presence. Innocent and pretty is only endearing for so long, dear. It's hard to surmise that Gossip Girl would be the only person who wouldn't mind seeing The Bad Boy have his way with her, and something tells me that The Class President's true self would agree with me on that too, if it ever showed itself.

My inbox is more thirsty for info on who's showing up with who to The Overachiever's party Saturday than The Bay Boy is for The Class President, though, so you know the drill. Let me know what you hear buzzing around, while I tend to those oh-so-important last minute costume details.

XOXO
Gossip Girl

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-10 01:15:00, as written by StarStruck

╚ THE QUEEN BEE ╝

♛

Hex Code: #209DC7
________________________________________With all that had went down between herself, Vincent, and Lexi years ago, Sydney still didn't feel completely comfortable in the presence of both of them at the same time. It wasn't a noticeable change in her personality, really, but unless she was in a very relaxed mood, she just disliked the energy between the three of them as a trio. She recognized that it wasn't even blatantly awkward. Alex didn't do anything to make her feel horrible, and Vincent was usually on decent enough behavior that he wouldn't make provocative comments to her, in the same way that he still sometimes did when they were alone. Rather, it had something to do with Sydney's conscience. Whether she would admit it or not, she still felt immensely guilty and bad for what she had done to Alexandra, and then even more so, for how sometimes she could convince herself that she didn't regret doing it. It was a weird back and forth, between her mind reminding her to be a good person, and then the colder side of her kicking in, where her emotional self-preservation told her that she needed to "stand her ground", in a sense, and not feel guilty, because that side of her refused to admit that she was at fault for anything.

In addition to all of that, though, as had been demonstrated a few minutes before with Katherine, Sydney was also simply in one of her moods today, where she didn't really have patience for any interruptions. That was why, while Alex maintained a friendly demeanor (and was Sydney just being paranoid too, in wanting to say almost flirty, too?!) with Vincent, Sydney shot him an unimpressed glance, as if he were wasting valuable minutes of her time with his foolishness. "And I'd expect better from you, too, Mast. You should know by now that if Alexandra and, or, myself wanted Berlin to be the chosen destination, it would have ended up as the chosen destination, no matter what any of you had to say about it." Looking to Alex now, as if that were the definite end of their conversation with Vincent, she ran a hand through her hair and said, "I'm in the mood to play in the park today. Good with you?" She had to go home and change first, which was fairly inconvenient given that their school was located right on the edge of the east side of the park, so it would take only ten or fifteen minutes to walk to the tennis courts on the west side, rather than having to drive fifteen minutes home, and then another fifteen minutes to the court. It was a necessary stop, though, and given that she and Alex lived literally a minute away from each other, it wasn't like they had to make an extra stop for Alex to change, too.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-10 02:54:36, as written by M95

Location: St. Jude's School for Boys - Library
Hex Code: #858585
Outfit: School Uniform
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Damn, someone's feisty today," Vincent remarked, taken back a bit, although he probably shouldn't have been. He was well aware that Sydney had a bit of bite in her. Alex had it, too, though luckily, she didn't seem to be eager to show it today. When it came down to it, it was that attitude and independence that the two girls shared that made Vincent attracted them to begin with, so he couldn't say that he was turned off by Sydney shutting him down so quickly, even when he had only come over with platonic, friendly intentions. Though it may have been evident that he was caught off guard initially, it didn't take long for a smile to fall comfortably back on his face, as he addressed Alexandra now. "You better take her to get something to eat, Lex. You women always seem to get cranky when you're hungry, so I'll leave to two of you be until then," he said, as his smile turned into more of a smirk. He offered the two of them a two-finger salute to signal his departure, and looked back at Clifford briefly, but continued out the door when he saw that he was still with Brent. He had read Ricardo's text message by then, but since Cliff was in the group chat too, he didn't feel the need to wait for him to pass along the message. If he wanted to hang with Rick, he could join in later. If not, then oh well. Clifford had a tendency to do his own thing a lot of the time, so Vincent wouldn't have been shocked if they didn't hear from him again until the school day started tomorrow.

To: Rick
Pizza Bench? Craving their vodka pizza

Vincent sent Ricardo a text in response, confirming his interest, and sharing in the other boy's expressed hunger. Though he would be fine with anything, not being too much of a picky eater, he had been craving a specific pizza from a local pizzeria all day, so that was his first suggestion. Once he was outside, it wasn't hard to spot Ricardo, and he grinned at him upon arrival. "Too busy getting ass to come to that meeting, huh, Slim?" he inquired, though it was done in a manner that almost seemed proud, rather than judgmental. "You didn't miss much, though. We pulled through on Paris."

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-12 08:05:59, as written by .euphoria.

Her outfit || Location: The Buchanan Twins' Range Rover X|| Mood: Annoyed and Aggrivated || Her sister, Savannah Rose X|| Hex color: #45C3B8

When Cliff announced that they were going to Paris. Charlotte couldn't hide her grin. She would have been fine with New Zealand but the thing was, Charlotte wasn't one for 'risk-taking' and thrill seeking types of adventures. She was one who liked to get lost in a city filled with culture, history, art, and, of course, it was the city of romance and she was a full fledge romantic. Even if she has never had a romance in her life. Knowing Alex, she would try to make something happen on the trip; a kiss, a date, hell maybe a single night with Charlotte and some guy if she was feeling really optimistic and idealistic. It wouldn't happen but, she'd let her best friend dream. She quickly sent the results and location to Headmistress Queller as several of the students shuffled out of the room either pleased or annoyed with the results like Cassidy. The blonde didn't give the girl much attention. "I'll have the announcement up on all of our accounts by midnight." She smiled with a nod. "Sounds great. She put her slim computer back in her backpack which was set on the side near Cliff. She didn't mean to eavesdrop into the guys' conversation but, she is nosey. "...I'll get the hot chick, and you can bang her semi-decent looking, very insecure and easy best friend. It'll be a win-win for all four of us." She rolled her eyes with a chuckle and a disapproving shake of her head towards the other president. "Both of you are a mess." Before she could make another smart comment Brent came up to Cliff and asked to speak to him. When Vince excused himself, Charlotte nodded. "I'll probably see you later. If he doesn't get you arrested." 'Him' pertaining to Brent. She didn't know what he wanted to talk to Cliff about and frankly, she didn't want to know. The less she knew the better. She turned to Alex and saw that she was talking to Sydney and Kat before Kat walked off. So, being too nice for her own good decided to leave on her own. She stood up and turned to Alex, who got her attention once more. "And I'm sooooooo serious, angel face. I love you to the moon and back, but you have until tomorrow to change your mind about that costume because you're coming home with me tomorrow and I promise you, I will have something ready for your ass on Saturday if you try me." She groaned. "Fine. I'll look up new ideas tonight and send you them tonight for the Queen's approval." She winked towards her best friend before walking out. She had to meet her sister outside before the car left without her, again.

From: Rosie

Be outside in 5 or im leaving w/o you

Lottie rolled her eyes, not even responding. She walked through the halls with her eyes glued to her phone to answer texts and to also be able to not feel insecure that guys were looking at her. Every time Alex or Savanah made a comment about the guys at Saint Jude getting a hard on around her or imagining her naked (Savannah's personal favorite comment) it just made Lottie feel awkward and weird for lack of a better word. Besides she had several messages from classmates asking about the trip and about homework in classes they skipped, knowing good well Charlotte went. She saw the message from Ricky and rolled her eyes. She was actually wondering where the 'King Bee' was during the meeting.

To: King Ricky

Aw, you know a part of me felt missing. And maybe if you came you'd know we chose Paris.

She sent the message before sending another with a smirk. There was nothing go on with Ricky and Charlotte, she just loved messing with him because of how different the two were. One has never even kissed someone, let alone sleep with them while the other... well, the other was Ricky and Lottie had heard enough rumors and stories about him and 'how amazing he is in bed' to last a lifetime. With how much girls, including her own sister, have gone into detail about him to her she's felt like she's been in bed with him. But, Charlotte has to admit, the man has skills. She won't fall for them but, she could see how it worked on her twin.

To: King Ricky

btw don't call me bby girl.

She put her phone her purse while pushing open the front door to see the twins' Range Rover and driver waiting for them while Savannah scurried from across the street from the Starbucks not far from their school. Charlotte snorted a bit before covering her mouth, watching her sister run across the road while trying not to get hit with three costume store bags on one arm and drink carrier in the other hand. Charlotte laughed as she walked down the steps of the school. "Go ahead and laugh, I'll just drop your coffee right here." Lottie covered her giggles and reached for the carrier as Savvy gave her bag to their driver, Hugh. "So, what did you guys decide on?

"Paris. Which you would have known if you came." Lottie replied as she used her hands to sign the words as well as say them. Savannah held her hands up in defense. "I know, I know. I just lost track of time. I needed to get the stuff for my costume." The president rolled her eyes as the two slipped into the car with the door closing behind them. Lottie was annoyed "What you get?" The troublemaker chuckled and shook her head, smacking Lottie's hand away as she tried to look in one of the bags located on the floor of the car. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise."

"C'mon, we're twins. There are no surprises. Just let me see." Savannah shook her head as she held the bags close to her before moving them to one of the seats in the row behind where the twins were sitting. Charlotte huffed before giving in. "Fine. I just won't tell you what I going as." Savvy scoffed. "Please. You couldn't tell if you wanted to because you don't have a costume yet. Do you?" The president didn't say a word as she went through her phone getting several texts telling her to look at Gossip Girl's latest post. Charlotte rarely hurried to look at the blogger's posts. They were nothing but mindless gossip and tearing people down to make her, or whoever they are, feel better about themselves. It was pathetic, still, she did like to know whenever her name popped up in a post. "That's exactly what I thought." Lottie didn't say a word as she scanned over the post before finally hitting her own name, it wasn't hard to guess who 'The Class President' was. "Is she serious?!" She was a lot louder than she needed to be, she ever made Hugh look back at her to make sure she was okay. She smiled towards the driver before turning back to her phone, sitting up as she continued to read. "What?" She tossed her phone to her twin. "Read that." Savannah rolled her eyes at her sister's dramatics before reading the phone. She covered her mouth to try and stop her giggles. "You're laughing? Really?" Savannah shrugged. "It's funny." Lottie's eyebrows shot up as she reached for her phone only to be stopped. "...Class President herself finally do something that would allow us to stop snoring at her mere presence. Innocent and pretty is only endearing for so long, dear.--... At least she called you pretty and endearing." Savvy read out loud. "Keep reading."

It's hard to surmise that Gossip Girl would be the only person who wouldn't mind seeing The Bad Boy have his way with her, and something tells me that The Class President's true self would agree with me on that too." The younger twin burst out laughing. She knew how much her sister hated when people said she and Brent had something going on there or that there was sexual tension because there wasn't. Charlotte will be the first to say that she had a stupid, diminutive freshmen year crush on him for like a week before she realized what an asshat he was which only got worst when she became president and he started selling at her events, or at least when she finally caught him. After that point, he's infuriated her to no end with his smartass comments and no basic consideration for the hard work she and Cliff have put into their events over the years. Charlotte snatched her phone with Savannah trying to stop laughing. "Sorry. I'm so sorry. It's just--... that's really funny. And kind of true." Charlotte scoffed. "Please! Brent will never be 'having his way with me' unless it's in his dreams."

"I feel like it wouldn't be the first time he'd have that dream. Or any other guy." Charlotte groaned in disgust. "Just gag me, why don't ya. And it's as if she's saying I want him." Savannah held up a finger as she grabbed back the phone and unlocked it. "Actually that last sentence says he's 'thirsty' for you." Lottie rolled her eyes, holding her hand our for her sister to give her phone back. "Now, I need to vomit." She was staring at her phone but heard her sister chuckle as she started texting Alex about the post.

To: Lex

Have you seen GG's post? If not u should apparently our love lives are the topic of the day.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-15 01:41:10, as written by Girl2Fine2

───────────────────────────

IN COLLABORATION W/ Starstruck

───────────────────────────

T H EXQ U E E NXB E E

Dialogue Color #209DC7

To say Alexandra was unaware of the tension that seemed to be always present whenever she found herself alone with both Sydney and Vincent is an unfair assessment. She was very much aware of it. Despite not many of their classmates, and the most important ones in the know being of their very close inner circle, knowing that there was even a love triangle of some sort in the past, they knew. Even though Vincent (and his mother) tried convincing her that it was only sex back then, and Sydney herself had added that it was drunk sex at that, Alex and the insecurities she tried not letting have a voice concluded that there had to be something there prior to drinking for them to fall into bed together, especially because Vincent wasn't a lightweight. And Sydney usually had more control than that. So did the blonde need the alcohol to assuage herself from any guilt in acting on her attraction to Vincent from when she was sober? Had Vincent always secretly wanted Sydney, since Alex had introduced them? Had Alex always not been good enough for one more person in her life? With all of those kinds of thoughts in her head all this time after the situation had been handled, she couldn't not be aware. Each and every time. But it seemed today that she was in far a better mood than Sydney, and a traitorously smug part of her contributed it to the fact that she was in a good or at least semi-good place with Vincent and perhaps Sydney wasn't, because Alex wasn't the snappy one today.

Alex's eyes widened upon Sydney's retort to Vincent and though she gave an amused smirk to his acknowledgment of Sydney's fire, it pales in comparison to the much more genuine smile she had had on her face for him when he first appeared. She did nod when Sydney mentioned the park, belatedly acknowledging Vincent's parting words as Alex's eyes darted between the blonde's unreadable expression and Vincent's departing (and still very attractive, as her mind supplied) form. "Yeah, I'm good with the park. After being stuck in classrooms all day, I can use all the fresh air I can get," she replied with a small grin, purposefully linking arms with her friend as they headed out of the library. Alex fixed Sydney with an assessing gaze, eyes roving over the girl's striking face, before she continued, playfully, "And as much as BAMF Sydney is my favorite queenie aesthetic of yours cuz obviously it's straight fire, you okay today, babe? Do massages need to be apart of this game plan? Cuz you know I'm always down for that."

Sydney was only forced to really evaluate her mindset when Lexi made a verbal note of her behavior, in the nicest way possible. Sydney could get like this for no reason at all, because she did have it in her personality to be sharp and unrelenting. However, there usually was a reason behind it. Some days she had just had a stressful round of classes, or maybe her mother had said something to her that had rubbed her the wrong way, or it could have been as simple as her having a headache. While she could be harsher than necessary, normally, Sydney did a good job at remaining uncaring towards the public. She acted like things didn't bother her, and that people were not even important enough to garner a reaction from her, because to her, emotions equated weakness. When people saw her snap, like now, she felt like it automatically signified that she was being pushed too far, and that her patience and tolerance for something was dwindling, or like she was going to break soon. It wasn't a look that she liked wearing, but since it had only been one comment to Vincent, who was an ass enough of the time to deserve it (and she wasn't going to consider her comments to Kat as being of her fault at all), she wasn't going to get worked up over it. Tennis would cure the stress that she was feeling, since luckily, the stress that she had within her wasn't major, and wasn't over anything specific, really.

"I'm fine," she said, nodding confidently in confirmation. "You know I don't like people wasting my time. I just didn't have it in me to let him talk away precious minutes of our time, when we have a lot on the agenda for the afternoon." Even if the girls went separate ways after tennis, and didn't check off any of Alex's pre-party errands off of the list, Sydney had other things she could get done. She had to finalize her own costume details, work on two papers, and later that evening, engage in a conference call with her father and her agent. There were other reasons for why she didn't want to spend too much time with Vincent, yes, but Sydney was most comfortable with using time as the excuse for why she had been curt with him. It wasn't like that was a lie, anyway.

Alex's left eyebrow twitched upwards, a brief sign of skepticism before she allowed Sydney's confirmation of her mood to assuage her. She wasn't going to push it, she reasoned. She herself was having a pretty good week, aside from that argument she had had with her mother on Tuesday about production rates and sales. Her birthday party was going to be great and totally fun. She was going to have a rather chilled birthday dinner possibly with family friends (and her ex-boyfriend and first love, but that was beside the point), and probably another with her grandfather. There was no need to stress herself out. She didn't have to believe the blonde, but if Sydney said she was good, Alex was going to go with the flow and be good too. So, she beamed at Sydney's response and followed her friend into the town car with no hesitation.

After she and Alex slid into the back of the black town car that was waiting out front, Sydney put on a more comfortable and fitting smile, as if entering the more intimate space of the car allowed her to suddenly drop a front she had maintained all day. "You know, Kat's actually been putting in effort lately when she plays me, so my competitive nature is even stronger than when I last played you. I hope you're bringing your game today, Lexi. I don't need you wasting my time, either," she teased.

Alex was situating herself in the seat, checking her Louis Vuitton for her phone charger since she had a habit of leaving it plugged in an outlet during school hours, when Sydney spoke again. The brown-skinned girl perked up, smirking as she exclaimed dramatically, "Pfft! Since when have I ever not brought my A-game? Never, that's when!" She insisted. Turning back to her bag briefly, Alex spotted the chord for her charger and closed her bag in satisfaction, pulling her phone up to see both the notification from Gossip Girl and Lottie's text about it. Frowning, Alex glanced at Sydney and declared on a sour note, "And once again, our favorite gossiping bitch is back at it again." Of course, this was stated before Alex actually read Gossip Girl's post. Gossip Girl was Alex's secret guilty pleasure. While she could sound disinterested, unimpressed or just plain bothered by the blog's existence, she could not read it every time something was posted, even when she knew certain secrets. She didn't know all and it wasn't like she wasn't displeased when she saw posts of herself, but who really could hate something when it was always so juicy? Then again, she wasn't necessarily enthralled with this post considering it included herself and Vincent, particularly when she thought she had been friendly. There wasn't anything to read from their interactions, right? Unless someone was privy to their text messages - especially some of his drunk ones - there shouldn't have been much of anything to speculate about. Not to mention how briefly uncomfortable if made her, considering she was reading the post in the car with the very person who helped ruin her and Vincent in the first place. So, Alex tried brushing it off, opting to not respond to Lottie yet, as she joked, "You'd think that for a bitch who spends all of her time writing about things that have nothing to do with her, she'd at least spell-check at this point in the game."

"I wouldn't call what you always bring to the court 'A-game', but then again, I guess you and I have different tennis standards," Sydney responded, including a very dramatic and playful innocent shrug of her shoulders with the comment that had made Alex shoot her a playful glare in retatliation. Though her trash talk was only playful, tennis was Sydney's sport, so she did get competitive when it came to it. Like polo, horseback riding, lacrosse, golf, and sailing, tennis fell into that same "rich man's sport" category, where if you had money, you had probably taken lessons or played on a team in one of those areas. Sydney's parents had always pushed her towards tennis, with two stand-out reasons being that her mother was great at the sport, and that their summer home in the Hamptons had its own private set of courts. Sydney became accustomed to practicing there daily, with a private instructor or her mother, throughout the summer, and as a child, she spent at least two or three afternoons at their private tennis club in Manhattan, practicing. She liked the sport because she simply enjoyed it, but more-so, because she was good at it. Better than good, even - she excelled at it. That was why she made it to the competitive varsity team as a freshman, was a co-captain of the team as a junior, and solo captain this year. Fittingly so, she preferred playing as a single than a double, since she wasn't much of a believer in the whole "there's no I in team" motto, but regardless of how the sport was being played, her goal was always to win. Luckily for her, she rarely missed that goal.

When the Gossip Girl blog was brought up, Sydney only cracked a smile at Alexandra's scathing remark about the writer's spelling. She was definitely more interested in reading what was up now than she seemed, as she only relaxed further back in her seat as her driver continued through the busy streets of New York. She didn't reach for her phone, that had been tossed into her bag a minute before, and she didn't even ask Alex to read the post aloud for her. She cared about the words that had been written, because for one, most of the time, her name was included somewhere within them, and secondly, because Sydney liked to fact check her own gossip there. She heard tons and tons of gossip from her many sources, but even if she wanted to deny it, it was hard to say that Gossip Girl didn't seem to know a lot. Sometimes, more than even Sydney herself did, and though that was never okay with her, and often left her feeling unsettled, she also appreciated having one extra informant in her circle. Even if it was a very public informant. She would read the post, but not until she was home and didn't have anyone (even one of her closest friends) there to construe her reading the post as her caring too much (because yeah, Sydney was that against seeming vulnerable).

"Okay, she's a bad speller, and her post coincidentally goes up at the same time as our newly-discovered secretive best friend leaves the room. I'm not claiming to be Sherlock Holmes, but maybe our Kitty Kat was hiding more than just her summer time secret all along. I'm not saying that there's a lot of obvious evidence that Katherine is Gossip Girl, but there wasn't a lot of evidence that she was as sick as she was either. Maybe she's this good at being secretive, and she's been playing all of us all along," Sydney suggested, only partly teasing. It definitely was a stretch to say that Katherine was Gossip Girl, but then again, when it came to this blog, it seemed like no one was safe from the accusation. Plus, Katherine had thrown both of her best friends for a loop this summer, when she disappeared without notice, and eventually, Sydney and Alex found out that she was away getting help for an eating disorder. While Sydney knew that she should have focused on feeling bad for Katherine following it, she couldn't help but to think more about herself, and how ignorant she must have been to have missed something so major, in her best friend's behavior and life. Rather than blame herself for not paying enough attention, it made her feel better to believe that Katherine was simply extraordinarily good at keeping secrets - at least when they revolved around her own identity.

Alex's mouth dropped open at that and she had half the mind to text Katherine and say that they needed a mandatory triad meeting because as much as her brain automatically came to Katherine's defense, and adamantly refused to believe that Kat being Gossip Girl was a possibility, she couldn't help but consider it. Of course, that would be giving the brunette far more acting chops than even Charlotte and that would be saying something considering who between the two of them was actually involved in theater. "Don't do that to me. You know how paranoid I can be and I pretty much deserve brownie points for even admitting that," she insisted, pointing a finger at Sydney, not even able to hide the surprised smile on her face for actually semi-considering Sydney's playful accusation. "Besides, if Kat really was Gossip Girl, she'd deserve a fucking Oscar because baby girl would have had us both fooled. Remember when she literally cried for two hours because Gossip Bitch talked about her being white girl wasted?" Alex decided then and there that she was going to cut the idea of Katherine being Gossip Girl out of her head. It was too stressful, she didn't want a headache, and Katherine wouldn't do that to them. Especially without telling them first. She did lie about this summer, was the traitorous thought she had to shake away just as they pulled up outside of Sydney's building. Opening the door, Alex glanced over at Sydney while saying, "Change and meet in 10? Prepare yourself, Persson. I don't want you getting too sad when I whoop you out on those courts." Grinning, Alex grabbed her things, winked at the blonde, and headed out of the town car. Luckily, their buildings were only one minute walking distance, giving them both ample amount of time to comfortably enter their apartment buildings in lieu of changing and meeting again to play tennis at the park.

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-17 06:45:29, as written by BurningBridges

K A T H E R I N E - A R N A U L T

Location: Foyer
Outfit: Here
Hex Color: #CF009F

C A S S I D Y ~ K N O X

Outfit
Hex Code: #559434
________________________________________

{With Additions from Miserable}
________________________________________The way that Thylane insisted to Cassidy that they were just together to study bothered Katherine. She felt like Thylane was trying to talk down their friendship, as if, for some bizarre and inexplicable reason, she was embarrassed to admit that they were truly friends to Cassidy, and cared more about her opinion than Katherine's. It resulted in Katherine automatically wanted to take a defensive tone, as she nearly glared in Thylane's direction, completely missing the fact that Thylane was actually trying to ward Cassidy off. "Actually, we are hanging out, Thylane. You specifically texted me asking to 'hang out' and hanging out does not involve her, so she's leaving, don't worry."

Cassidy had to capitalize on the misunderstanding here. She just had to. Katherine was one of the easiest people in the world to read, and it didn't take too much skill to know exactly how to push her buttons to get her worked up. It was something that Cassidy had caught onto very quickly, once she moved in, so she knew what to say to get under Kat's skin. "Awkward... you think you're hanging out, she thinks she's just here to help you with your paper. Are you sure your daddy didn't hire her to 'be your friend', A-K-A make sure that you don't fail out of school?" she questioned, feigning a tone of genuine concern.

They were hanging out with a specific plan that included working on a paper, but now that Cassidy was spinning it this way, Katherine was ready to deny it entirely to fit the story that she wanted to be the new reality. It was a defensive mechanism, and one that she didn't even realize that she was taking on most of the time, when it was happening like this, where her emotions were working faster than the logical side of her brain was. "We're not working on that stupid paper. We're... we're going to watch a movie. Right, T?" she came up with, flashing Thylane a look that demanded that she play along. "We're watching a movie, because that's what friends do. You wouldn't know, because you're a stupid, friendless bitch, so move along now," she continued, using her free hand to motion to Cassidy in a shooing manner.

The dismissive hand gesture had Cassidy digging her nails just a little bit deeper into Katherine's skin, once she realized that she had loosened her grip a little. However, she couldn't be too mad, because her plan was working, and it took a lot of effort for her to remain concerned looking, and not laugh in entertainment like she wanted to do. "No, no, no. Thylane specifically said that she was here to do an English paper for you. Your dad's paying her to 'hang out' with you, and you were too stupid to realize it this whole time. This is embarrassing, Kat. You might have to go into hiding over this one. Do you think the eating disorder rehab would take you back for a few months if Gossip Girl happened to find out about this?"

It said something when Katherine actually stomped her foot out of frustration, like a child on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum, and this was just the reason for why Cassidy's shirt was wet. Katherine couldn't outsmart her in verbal arguments, or battles of the wit, so the only way that she could validate herself when Cassidy was being manipulative or playing mind games was to be childish and fight back in more immature ways. With Katherine sure that her skin was going to break if Cassidy squeezed any harder, though, she knew better than to stomp on the other girl's foot like she had half the mind to do. "Thylane! Tell her you're just here to hang out!" she demanded.

"Nope, it's too late now. Her cover's been blown, and whatever she says now would just be her trying to cover up."

"Kat, you know--" Thylane tried to interject to end this, when it was clear that her pleading looks to Cassidy were doing absolutely no good. She could see Cassidy's eyes light up every time Katherine responded to her, fueling the fire even more. In a way, she understood Cassidy enough to know why she got such amusement out of seeing Katherine so worked up over something as ridiculous as this very obvious lie that Cassidy had construed on the spot, but at the same time, she wished Cassidy would stop it. It was immature, and it was already giving Thylane a headache after only a minute of it.

"You know that she didn't want you to find out this way, but she needed the money, and she knew you needed the grades, and your dad just wanted you to have one friend who possessed an ounce of intelligence, even if the friendship was fake. It's fine, T, you don't have to explain yourself."

"That's not what--" She tried to say that that was not what she was going to say, because it definitely wasn't, but between the two of them, Thylane couldn't even finish a sentence before being cut off. All she could do was sigh and think, Yep, I definitely should have suggested the library.

"You know what? I don't even care. You're both literally dead to me." It took more effort than she wanted to show to finally yank her arm out of Cassidy's grasp, but she eventually did, and she stormed away afterwards. This was definitely a good reflection on how dramatic Kat could be, but also how emotional she was, too. A part of her wanted to be logical and discredit everything that Cassidy said, but it didn't take more than a seed of thought to be planted in Kat's mind in order for paranoia to grow. She was more insecure than most people knew her to be, so when people suggested anything wrong about her, it was actually easier for her to believe that they were probably right, than it would be for strangers to believe so. So, while she had nothing other than Cassidy's word to make her believe that Thylane wasn't a real friend, that was really all it took for her to storm upstairs to her bedroom, and purposely slam the door behind her. She was already in her pajamas, so sliding into bed was the easy choice, and once over the covers, she sent out two texts. The first was to Alex, and the second to Charlotte, and though she probably wasn't promoting her cause too well, the reference to common southern stereotypes was only meant in the best of ways from Katherine.

To: Alex
If you don't uninvite Cassidy to your party I'm not going and I'll never speak to you again

To: Charlotte
Please come over. I need help with the English paper that was due Tuesday and Thylane was going to help me but I decided that you're so much smarter than her and such a better friend <3. Please, please, pleasseeeeeeee. I'll make you sweet tea or fried chicken or whatever else it is that your kind of people like!

With Katherine gone, Cassidy smiled at Thylane, as if she had just acheived a victory for the both of them. "You're welcome," she said, not needing a 'thank you' said aloud to decide that that was what Thylane was thinking. "Now that that's taken care of, are you coming to get pizza with Brent and I later?"

Setting

New York City

Characters Present

0.00 INK

#2017-02-18 03:22:21, as written by StarStruck

───────────────────────────

───────────────────────────
A L E X A N D R A xx B O U T R O S
╚T H ExxO V E R A C H E I V E R╝

Outfit: Here
Location: Central Park - Tennis Courts
Dialogue Color: #E8ADAA
Thought Color: #985D5A

Collaboration with Girl2Fine2

───────────────────────────

╚T H ExxQ U E E NxxB E E╝

Outfit: Here
Location: Central Park - Tennis Courts
Dialogue Color #209DC7

Thankfully, Sydney's apartment was empty when she got home. She was relieved of this only because she didn't feel like encountering her mother at the moment. She didn't need to hear comments about the imaginary bags under her eyes that only her mother seemed to be able to see, or how she had an attitude problem for saying hello in a tone that was somehow not pleasant enough for the woman's liking. There were days when Sydney caught Liza in a good mood, and their interactions were actually positive, but Sydney had a feeling that today wasn't going to be one of those days. Before leaving for school that morning, Sydney found her mothers heels, keys and purse were scattered on the floor in the foyer, and though she hadn't seen her mother then or the night before to witness it first hand, she didn't have to. She had seen similar scenes enough times to know that that meant that her mother had had too much to drink at whatever charity event, or party, or dinner date with friends, that she was at the night before, and was probably still incredibly hungover. Even now, at almost four in the afternoon of the next day. Drunk Liza was probably the worst version of her mother in terms of harsh and unnecessary comments, but hungover Liza wasn't too much better. When Sydney headed into their home now, her mother's belongings were no longer scattered on the floor, but that didn't necessarily mean that the woman was out of the house, probably nursing her hangover with a hot yoga class or day at the spa. Their house cleaning staff came every other day, so it was quite possible that it was them who had cleaned up her mother's mess. It was only when Sydney actually headed upstairs and saw that her parents' bedroom door was open, and that no one was inside, that she then knew she was alone. She knew that it was sad that things had gotten to a point where she actually preferred being alone and lonely, than having a stable family, but that was something she didn't like to think about. After all, emotions weren't Sydney Persson's strong suit.

It took her little more than ten minutes to ditch her school uniform and books for a new outfit, and her tennis bag. The outfit was one that she had trouble deciding on, and only accepted when she saw that time was running out in terms of her promise to meet Alex outside in ten. She knew that she would ditch the sweatshirt in favor of just wearing the black sports bra she had underneath almost as soon as they hit the court, but it was a fine outfit for the time being. In perfect timing, her car pulled up just as she spotted Alexandra outside, and she waved her over to it. "If Katherine and I didn't already have your birthday gifts wrapped and ready, I would just give you a chance at winning today as my gift to you. Oh well, I guess," she smiled playfully.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Persson," Alexandra responded dryly, her Monreal London bag on the ground between her feet as she finished tying herself her curly hair into a bun. It was in its natural state now and considering she was getting her thick locks straightened on Saturday, she figured an early wash after their bout on the tennis court wouldn't hurt so much, especially considering the deep conditioning she was planning. The top half of her Monreal London dress was hidden by her Saint Laurent jacket, though like her friend, she was bound to take it off upon reaching the courts. Much like Sydney, Alex was used to the silent sound of loneliness and in a way, it was self-inflicted. After years of either neglect or criticism from the woman who birthed her - and in contrast to the overall brighter and seemingly optimistic caricature she presented to her peers - why stay where she was honestly unwanted when she had a choice to be elsewhere? Her grandfather immediately disagreed, but Alex's mind was made up. She might have more nights alone in her penthouse than most people would prefer, especially as the social butterfly that she naturally was, but she at least could embrace the silence like an old friend as opposed to a choking cloud of criticism and thinly-veiled (and unearned) contempt.

So, Alex had gone upstairs without needing to look around or worrying about whether another person was present. Robert had not informed his grandchild of possibly visiting, her caretaker Angela was out picking up her own son and would be back later, and her chef Danielle would probably be on her way soon to make Alex's dinner, so she just headed to her bedroom to change. Tennis wasn't Alexandra's sport. She was a big girl and could admit that. She grew up on gymnastics and had she chosen to pursue it rather than a fashion career, she probably could have done more with it. She still frequented the nearby gym, just to make sure her skills on the balance beam were still present, that she was still adept at tumbling, and she kept up her flexibility and stamina. Both of which were the only reasons she was actually decent with tennis. They had to be; she was one of the shortest of all of her friends. But that didn't mean that Alexandra couldn't talk shit nor did that mean she couldn't look cute while playing.

"Just because you're able to get lessons off of Venus and Serena doesn't mean that the rest of us don't have a little something-something," she continued, picking up her bag and heading over to the car and her blonde companion, grinning all the while. "But I'll take you actually putting your money where your mouth is as my early bonus b-day gift, though."

It went without saying that Sydney was quite fond of the better side of her relationship with Alexandra. The two had been close ever since childhood, but after the incident with Vincent, their friendship was put on hold, quite abruptly. It didn't stop so dramatically in a public sense, and there were surely many people who had no idea that they ever had issues within their friendship, but in their more intimate circles, the space between them was well known. Now that things were getting better between them, Sydney found herself thinking more often about how much she missed this. "Let's just say that if you do happen to win a match, it's only because I let you win. I'll see if I feel like going down that route once we get out there," she said, smiling only because it was hard to keep a serious face when she knew her competitive side was that bad (and she knew that Alex knew too), to an extent where she genuinely would convince herself that she let Alex win, if she did happen to lose a match.

A little bit less than fifteen minutes passed before their car pulled up outside of one of the entrances to the west side of the park. Oddly, Sydney had a fondness for this area of the park. The walk to the tennis courts inside of the park only spanned about five minutes, but within those few minutes, they passed a playground filled with energetic children (and mothers and nannies chasing after them), people walking their dogs and playing fetch with them on the spans of green grass, and trees that were in the midst of changing colors as fall set in. They crossed over a bridge that was known as the Gothic Bridge, due to its architectural style, and before turning down the path towards the tennis courts, caught a glimpse of the reservoir that was surrounded by a jogging path that Sydney frequented at least a few times a week. Since they had a reservation for a court, all it took was a quick check in in the office before the girls were on their court, which happened to be an end one, getting ready to start their match. She took a sip of her water, and tossed her sweatshirt to the side of the court where she left her bag, before making her way to her side of the court, and tossing a ball up in the air before catching it, as she waited for Alex to get ready. "I think it's only fair that I win today, anyway. We both know you're going to be slaying the game on Saturday, so let me have my moment today, Lexi!"[/color] she teased. "You know it takes a lot for me to be able to give up the spotlight for someone else. And it takes even more for me to be okay with someone stealing the spotlight, since I can totally admit that even if I wanted the attention to be on me Saturday, we all know you're going to outdo yourself, and all of us, with everything you've got planned."

The laughter came easily for Alex upon Sydney insinuating that if Alex won, it was because she was allowed the win. Which, to be quite honest, she wouldn't be surprised if that actually was the case today. She definitely wasn't a bad tennis player; that much was certain. Alex could hold her own. But she knew she wasn't exactly thinking of really winning for the day, especially not up against Sydney on her own. Though, as her equally competitive side would say, that didn't mean Sydney had to know that. She was just planning on playing the game and whatever happened - and she was honestly banking on Sydney winning only because Alex was very much aware of how indulgent she had been in the last few days with her Bibble and Sip runs in the morning - was going to happen. Sydney got someone to play her sport with her and Alex actually got some form of workout in. Her trainer was probably still going to put her through the ringer come Tuesday, but at least she could say he would be proud that she took some kind of initiative when it came to her cardio. "How gracious of you," she said in between giggling, placing a hand on her chest dramatically, "I feel soooooo honored, really."

Soon enough, they were on their reserved court and Alex shed herself of her jacket, shivering only slightly at the nip of cool air that greeted her bare arms. To this day, despite being a native New Yorker, she wasn't exactly as willing to be as bare as Sydney was during the autumn weather, and especially not during the winter. It wasn't really freezing as it was only October; Alex knew what cold for New York truly was. But that didn't mean she was ready to be prancing around in active-wear pants and a sports bra, even if their body temperatures were going to rise as they became more active and fervent in their tennis match. Alex was in the middle of stretching when Sydney spoke again, balancing herself on one leg while she pulled the other backwards until her foot grazed the back of her head just barely. Releasing it so that she could shake off any tension in her body, Alex tossed Sydney a grin as she went on about why she deserved to win for the day. "Oh snap! I'm getting a compliment from the queen Sydney Persson and was offered to have her possibly lose the game on my behalf on the same day," she inquired loudly, shock on her face as she took her racket out of her bag and assumed her position on the court. Giggling, Alex pretended to flip her hair while exclaiming, "Well, shit, either I'm blessed and highly favored, or the OG slay queen over there is just trying to butter me up before she totally embarrasses me in front of everyone at this park." Winking at Sydney, Alex bent her knees slightly, bouncing on her toes and said, "I'm banking on the latter. Your serve."

Especially after the comment that Cassidy had made that afternoon, Sydney had to roll her eyes at Alexandra's comments, but she didn't linger on them. Oddly, while she was indifferent towards acquaintances or strangers referring to her position on the social ladder as The Queen Bee, it felt weird hearing it from friends. It was always said, as it was being said now, in a playful and joking manner, but it still almost embarrassed her, to be called it by them, as if it was a reputation she didn't want to assume around her friends. That wasn't to say that she didn't embrace the controlling and manipulative tendencies that her Queen Bee persona had, but it was just that she didn't like it to be so blatant that she could be labeled that, by them. She considered wishing Alex good luck before her serve, but decided to only smile in the girl's direction as she readied herself, tossed the ball upwards, and then slammed her racket into it, sending it across the court. Alex returned it, and the girls had a steady back-and-forth going for a period of time that actually left Sydney pleasantly surprised with Alex's skill, before Sydney managed to hit it so that it was just out of reach of the other girl's arm. "Fifteen-love, my love," she said, announcing the score with a satisfied smile as she grabbed another ball for the next serve. "Speaking of this party that we're all so excited about, I don't think you ever told us what you decided on wearing. I know you had a few options in mind. What did you decide on, or is it a 'secret'? Even if it is, you know I'm exempt from secrets. You have to tell me."

There was something almost hypnotic about the back and forth exchange of the ball between, its impact upon their rackets echoing somewhat in the cool October afternoon. It was always different for Alexandra to actually play tennis as opposed to watching it when she was waiting for Sydney's matches to be over or when two classmate's were in the middle of a set for their gym class. Alex surprised her own self by not needing a bit more time to warm up when Sydney first served the ball, and fell into the east rhythm of being the receiver. It was almost disappointing when the ball skirted past her when she tried to reach it, brushing against the edge of her racket before skidding to the hard ground. "Damn it," she muttered to herself, though it lacked the heat she would probably feel if she had messed up on a backhand spring. Still, she couldn't help but want to do better the next time she was already bouncing on the tips of her toes when Sydney spoke up about her costume.

"Haven't you heard that patience is a virtue, Syd?" She teased on a wide smile, twisting her racket between her hands. "But since you're sooooo eager to know, I'm a vampire. Vampire queen and mother of all vampires, to be exact. From the Anne Rice book series and the two movie adaptions." It was still such a surprise - a culture shock, to some degree - to know that not many of her peers knew of Queen of the Damned. Not only was it the last acting gig Aaliyah managed to do before her death - and there literally shouldn't be any one person who didn't know who the singer was - it was also connected to Interview with a Vampire. And a lot of people at least knew about the latter. It had Tom Cruise in it, after all. Mediocre acting aside, in Alex's opinion, he was popular enough for people to know more about his filmography than a dead artist's. "I made the costume myself. Got a few last details to finish on the crown, but it's ready and divine. What about you? Any date I should be aware of?"

"You would go as Akasha," Sydney smirked. "I'll support it, only because I know that even if your tits are out all night, somehow your costume is going to look like it came right off an actual movie set." It was a bit of a crude comment by Sydney's normal standards, but again, she was a bit different with friends, especially in an environment where she didn't feel like anyone else was paying much attention to her. She was more toned down and relaxed... more herself. When Alexandra turned the questions to her, then, she considered just putting the ball back into play to avoid it. With both girls being focused, it was too difficult to actually speak while playing, and Sydney knew that it would be a good way at buying some time before answering. It wasn't the first part of Alex's questions that bothered her, though, and so she answered that part easily. "Kat and I officially decided on the angel costumes. You know I'm not usually so cliche, but she's going as the white angel, you know, since she's always innocent and pure, and I'm going as a dark angel." It definitely was cliche, but Sydney was content with how her costume looked. It wasn't store bought, and though she didn't make it herself, she had the wings custom made for the party. In addition to that, she was planning on wearing a black lingerie set with heels. She had an outfit ready, but wasn't completely set on it yet. Normally, Sydney liked to be a bit more conservative and classy, but Halloween was the one day out of the year where anyone could get away with dressing in close to nothing, and not be a labeled a slut for doing so. Though Sydney liked to act like she was above a lot of stereotypical teenage customs, this was one that she was happy to participate in, only because she knew that she could still look good and classy while doing it.

Deciding that that was enough talk for now, she served the ball once more, and again, Alex returned it. To Sydney's dismay, however, it must have been Alex's second question, that was still lingering in her head, that threw her off enough to miss one of Alex's shots early on. It wasn't like Alex had said anything wrong, in asking Sydney if she was bringing a date to the party. It was just that after the whole Vincent thing, Sydney had grown noticeably uncomfortable about talking about any sort of sexual or romantic relationships with even the closest of her friends. She had decided from then on, that love wasn't for her. It was too messy, and there was too much to lose, so even when she did develop feelings for a guy, she suppressed them. Always. There was only one guy that she had slept with after Vincent, and he had only been a one night stand, a form of rebound sex for Sydney, really. Though she had went on dates and done things that didn't involve a bedroom with other guys, they still just weren't things that she liked to broadcast to anyone. Not even Katherine or Alex. Knowing that Alex was probably going to call her out on not answering, now that they had another few seconds of down time, Sydney decided to address it first. "And you know that the answer to your second question is no. Sydney Persson works alone. Always and forever," she said, rolling her eyes at herself, at how cheesy the last part sounded, but smiling still. "But since you brought that up out of nowhere, should I assume that someone's going to be glued to your hip - or lips - all night?"

"Seriously!?" Alex exclaimed, shooting Sydney a somewhat unimpressed look that didn't really last on her face for much too long considering she had been smiling all the while. "What is with everyone's obsession with angels?" She wasn't particularly as upset about the idea of Sydney and Katherine going as contrasting angels since she found it kinda cute that they ended coordinating for things like that. Before, especially when she had decided that she didn't trust Sydney anymore but also couldn't exactly publicly denounce their friendship, Alex could only admit to herself that there had been a tremor of jealousy in her at the two girls' closeness. She knew that Kat had met Sydney first and had understood that they were friends for a few years longer than Sydney and Alex had even known one another. At the same time, Alexandra was a territorial creature at heart. Even if she had been the one to pull away from Sydney and not the other way around, there was no denying (unless it was to herself, of course, because she would never verbalize those feelings around anyone else) the resentment she had felt bloom within her chest, making it too tight and her too easily agitated to deal with either for too long. She was better with it now, and especially because Kat never made it a point to make her feel excluded and Alex had Charlotte on more days than she had the others. "And what I will say is that there will be no all out of anyone's tits, thank you very much! There will be tasteful tastefulness!"[/color] Which was the truth. Aaliyah didn't have as much going for her in the chest department as Alexandra, which meant that initial design wouldn't have worked for her to begin with. She wasn't exactly walking around toting melons on her chest, but there was no denying that she definitely required straps of some kind if she didn't want the girls to just pop out when she was making her entrance.

The fact that Sydney went and served the ball without answering the second part of Alex's question didn't escape her, but Alexandra played anyway, scurrying to offer a return. In her defense, it wasn't a particularly off question to ask. Last year, Ricky had been her crime lord escort and there were plenty of events that they had attended where the girls had had dates as opposed to just showing up as a group. Alex had especially been privy to show up at fashion shows and events with various actors and models, inciting some of the more salacious rumors about her that had been spread around the school halls and even on a Gossip Girl post once or twice before. Most were unfounded, but still. She wasn't coming completely out of left field. At the same time, her mind kept coming back to Vincent wanting to take her out for her birthday and it was just...different. It would be one thing to tell the girls that they had hung out with his family like usual or that the two of them were just playing video games. Hell, it wouldn't even really be that big of a deal if had been Ricky taking her out alone for her birthday. But that was because mostly everyone who knew them knew that Alexandra wasn't interested in Ricky, that there was nothing there but playfulness. With Vincent, she had history and well, something she didn't like to acknowledge. And while in the back of her mind, she was telling herself that she shouldn't trust Sydney in bringing that and her concerns up, there was the more sentimental - "weaker," her mind supplied, unhelpfully - part of her that wanted to trust Sydney's judgement. She'd more than likely bring it up to Charlotte before the party, but she knew that between Sydney and Katherine, if Alex wanted a logical opinion of some sort, Sydney was the way to go. Even if she didn't always trust her.

It was complicated.

It was a surprise to probably both Alexandra and Sydney that the latter missed the sharp return Alex had given her, but Alex didn't gloat. Not when she could see the distracted expression on the blonde's face. But Sydney was smiling soon enough and Alex had to roll her eyes at the girl's initially expressed sentiments before the questioning was turned on her. "Okay, for one, you say that like none of us have shown up to stuff with arm candy before. You and I both know that I have flexed once or twice in these last four years when I wanted to make an entrance or something like that," she replied easily, grinning. The grin dropped soon, though, and Alex cleared her throat. "But no, no hip gluing for me." And then there was the reminder that, despite their similarities, Alex was different than Sydney...because she was nervous. Sydney wouldn't be nervous; that was how much in control she could be. And Alex had to remind herself that she had no reason to be, at all. It didn't stop her from blurting the next part out, cheeks flushing: "Well, I mean, at least not for Saturday. But maybe next week. Ummm...Vince wants to...hang out...for my birthday. Alone. Even though we'll be together, with his family...before then for dinner. That's weird, right? Is that weird?"

"Oh God," Sydney groaned, allowing her head to fall backwards in a dramatic motion, as if Alexandra's words were the worst things she could have heard. She was partially joking, though, and the small smile on her face made that clear. It might have been more appropriate to take on a more serious and thoughtful tone, especially given that Sydney could tell that Alex was nervous, or at least said that on a whim, just by the way it had come out of her mouth. As bothered as she wanted to seem by it though, Sydney wasn't a horrible friend, and more than that, she knew that this was not a question that she could just serve her way through to avoid, so she loosened up her stance and walked towards the net. Though no one else on the courts were paying attention to them, it seemed more fitting and intimate to be standing closer to Alex to discuss this, so she hovered by her side of the net to speak in a quieter voice. "Only you would interrupt my game by getting deep on me, Lex. You better not be fabricating all of this right now, just in an attempt to throw me off, because you know having to channel my emotions does that to me," she said, poking fun at herself as she carefully placed her racket by her feet so that she could adjust her ponytail while talking.

"But, I don't know if it's weird. I don't think it is. I mean, anyone who knows Vincent knows that he never stopped wanting you as more than a friend," she said, her tone thoughtful as she actually tried to figure out what she thought of the proposition. It was a rare circumstance for Sydney to admit that she was actually indecisive about something that held a lot of weight. Normally, she had an answer, and that was one that she was confident in, or she would act impartial, but only if the subject was something that she had little interest in, and in those situations, she would admit blatantly that she simply didn't care enough to take a stance on the subject. This was more complicated, and a more authentic version of Sydney shined through as she diverted her gaze past Alex, thinking for a moment, before meeting her gaze to add, "And when I say he never stopped wanting you, I mean never. Not even for a night." It probably didn't mean that much to Alex, but for Sydney, referencing that night, and admitting that it held no importance to Vincent was a strenuous thing for Sydney to do. She wasn't one to get emotional, and she definitely wasn't about to start tearing up now or anything, but even just dipping her foot into the pool of emotions regarding that night was a big deal for her. "What I do think it is, though, is dangerous." That was the right word for it; probably the only word that Sydney could use, without being offensive. "I don't know. I guess you and I are just different, though," she ended with, knowing that that probably wasn't much of a help, but not knowing what else to say.

"I know, I know," Alexandra cried, full-on pouting against Sydney's small smile. She hated herself for even bringing it up. Not only was Sydney probably the wrong person to bring Vincent up around, but it actually was awkward, in a sense. Regardless of the two of them getting to a point where they could safely say that their relationship was fine and they were at a good point, and there was definitely a part of Alexandra that resented having to care about Sydney's comfort in this, there was a note of awkwardness and discomfort in bringing up the subject of their friendship's almost demise. But Vincent - and the thought of whatever he had planned for them next week - would have lingered in Alex's mind, regardless, she figured. It was better that she got it out here, when she was alone with Sydney, as opposed to when she was alone with both Sydney and Katherine. The latter would go into a rant about all of the reasons why it was a bad idea and how Alex was obviously going to cancel because they would not allow her to make such a horrible mistake, and Sydney would be able to hide any real opinion she had on the matter with a flippant remark and nonchalance. So, Alex sucked up her trepidation and approached the net as well when she saw Sydney move towards it.

Although Sydney averted her gaze, Alex felt both the weight of her far-off stare and words on her chest; the very elephant that always seemed to sit in the rooms they shared taking residence on her chest and it made her have to catch her breath. She could blame it on the physical exertion all she wanted, remind herself and Sydney that she had been bad in terms of being active and what she had put in her body. But they both would know it was more than that. It always was. Dangerous. It was the word Sydney chose and it was fitting, a lump that formed in Alex's throat at the very same time that her heart seemed to decide its new occupation was the drummer in a band she had never known existed. Alexandra shouldn't feel that thrum of elation beneath her skin at the thought of Vincent still wanting something with her. She should feel the confusion more that was nagging at the back of her mind. Sydney was right. This - whatever it was (even getting the opinion from the very person who helped tear her and Vincent apart in the first place) - was dangerous. And yet she was as interested as she was terrified. "You're probably right," she admitted quietly, meeting the blonde's gaze for a moment before turning away. She figured she probably should get them back to that easygoing energy from before. Or, at least try. "And don't think that you can blame your loss of focus on me, Syd." Alex grinned, backing away from the net. "If you lose out here, that's on you."

There was a part of Sydney that was relieved when Alexandra seemed to halt her desire to delve deeper into this subject, but at the same time, Sydney was well aware that even if the conversation was over verbally, she wouldn't be able to turn it off in her mind. Alex's last comment, however, told her that she needed to turn it off for the time being, though, because, as she said, before retreating to the proper area of the court and serving the ball, "You must be forgetting who you're talking to. Sydney Persson does not lose at anything."

Seen 71 Times • Page 1 of 3 • 1, 2, 3