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Location
Rodeo Drive
Dialogue Color #22570B | Thought Color #E9AB17
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Location
Rodeo Drive
Dialogue Color #C74600 | Thought Color #A72851
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Location
Rodeo Drive
Dialogue Color #22570B | Thought Color #E9AB17
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Location
Rodeo Drive
Dialogue Color #C74600 | Thought Color #A72851
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Arizona had spent longer than was really necessary in the Céline store. In her defense, it was an out of character move. At least compared to her friends, she wasn't materialistic, and she rarely ever got too hung up over high end items. She definitely indulged in luxurious things, but if her aunt and uncle rejected a request for her to charge something expensive to her card that they paid the bills on, she would normally accept no as the answer and move on. The bag that she was fixated on today wasn't anything spectacular, but she needed a new black bag, and this one fit every standard she had in mind. Of course, $2,700 was a lot of money for a purse, but in Beverly Hills, it was simply the norm. If Ari hadn't grown up outside of this world, she wouldn't have thought anything of it. Even knowing that it was a lot, though, she reasoned that she deserved it. She was going to be put under a lot of pressure this year to get into a good school, and given that it was her aunt and uncle who pushed her so hard to be perfect, a bag seemed like a tiny favor for them to do for her. While she lived off of their money, it wasn't like she frequently asked for very expensive things like this - not compared to her friends, anyway. Ari did a good job at not feeling insecure about money, because again, she wasn't poor and her aunt and uncle were wealthy enough to fit in well with her friends' parents, but a lot of her friends also happened to be a form of next level rich. Kat's dad essentially owned the store that they were standing in, for God's sake, so of course the brunette couldn't understand her dilemmas, and mostly, Ari thought the same of Nat and Gabby. That was why she only waved Kat and Gabby off when the two expressed interest in continuing down Rodeo Drive to other stores in the vicinity.
It was understandably easier for Katherine to pass right through the store, seemingly bored and uninterested in a way that was uncommon for the shopaholic, but made sense once you considered that this brand was one that was enveloped under the company that her father was the head of. Of course she didn't want to spend time looking at the products, because she had already viewed each and every one of them months before they even hit the shelf. Ari wanted to punch herself merely for the amount of effort she had put into analyzing the girl in the last few minutes, and just because she was overthinking that, she didn't mind pacing herself and Nat a little slower after they left the store, unfortunately, with Ari leaving empty handed. Although she didn't want the bring up what she had texted Nat about earlier, the uncomfortable air she felt whenever she was near Kat, combined with how her head was hurting today merely from all of the overthinking, led her to bring it up... or at least start a conversation that she figured she could lead there. "I heard you're on the verge of being appointed world's worst friend over today's kickball fiasco."
Nat was here out of love.
Having spent a lifetime surrounded by luxury and high-end living, she had grown increasingly unimpressed with the act of shopping. Half of the items in the stores they frequented were already items she either dismissed or already purchased with the exception of those I purchased items due to having already bought something from an African luxury brand. While luxury was luxury, Natalia had never hidden the fact that she preferred Black-owned luxury businesses to...well, the standard. And the standard was supported by enough millionaire and billionaire babies around the world that Nat didn't think they'd really miss her business. Plus, unlike the others (but almost like Kat who received items long before they saw shelf life), Nat already had a selection of bathing suits to choose from at home. It had been delivered upon her father's request, just to outshine Isabel for the petty moment. So Nat didn't really need to be here. That could've also been the sociable introvert in her talking more than the not-easily-impressed side of her, but the point was that Nat was here out of loving Katherine Arnault.
Even if the brunette was adamant that she was not.
Even if Nat found herself keeping Arizona company more-so than the brunette in question.
"I'm always on the verge of being the worst best friend if you ask that child," she replied after a small laugh. Natalia hadn't even taken a side before Kat assumed that she was obviously on Sebastian's. Which meant a very snappy Kat with a sharp glare that warded off any of the brunette's regular tantrum. Whether that has been an acknowledgement that Nat would not deal with Kat's bullshit without hurting her feelings, remained unknown but Kat had passive-aggressively insisted that Nat still come. But made sure Nat knew how upset she was over a situation Katherine had started. "I'll find her a red number in case she actually listens to your friend and wears yellow tomorrow." That was still a puzzling concept to Nat. There was literally no reason for Gabrielle to have insisted that Kat wear yellow and it stuck in Nat's brain. She figured she could always be a fail-safe back-up in case Kat listened and needed to rectify the situation, especially if her insecurities decided to announce their continued existence. But...it still was puzzling. Nat gave Arizona a sidelong glance, contemplative, before inquiring. "So...do we still have a situation or are we pretending like the most pressing matter in your life is the Celine bag you could've let me buy for you?" Natalia gave the redhead a pointed look as she posed the question, a knowing smile forming.
"My aunt and uncle are such control freaks that they probably would have made me return it if I showed up at home with that, without getting their permission," Ari reasoned light-heartedly, as the girls headed down the street. Since Ari had not been present during the morning conversation that involved Gabby suggesting to Kat that it would be fun for her to wear yellow tomorrow to keep Timothy on her toes, she was lost as to what Nat was referring to her, and rather than addressing her own situation first, she returned back to that. "What do you mean? Don't tell me that Kat and Tim are having relationship problems," she said, rolling her eyes. A small voice in the back of her head said, "At least Kat gets to have relationship anything with him, since apparently, she's the only one good enough to meet his relationship standards," but when a countering voice in her head chimed in to remind her that she was just as jealous that Tim got to have relationship problems with Kat, she decided to shut both of those internal voices up for the moment. With Versace in sight, it seemed like now was the best time to talk about this, before Kat was right in front of them. "But yeah, there's not really a situation. I was dramatic this morning, but I guess today reminded me that my non-existent relationship drama sucks, but your love triangle with Sebastian and Kat sucks even more. Two beautiful people feuding over your heart has got to be tough," she teased, deciding that it was easier to leave the topic at that. It was definitely easier to talk about how conflicted she felt over her crush on Kat, and sexuality in general, over text or while intoxicated. Now, she just felt awkward, like her cheeks were on the verge of burning red to signify that.
Nat only rolled her eyes at Arizona's explanation of not letting Natalia purchase the bag for her and she even smirked lightly at the girl's disbelief towards Kat and Tim having possible relationship problems, but her eyebrows rose - an indication of her surprise - at the other girl's display of...jealousy? That was jealousy Nat detected and she was more sure of it being towards Tim having Kat than vice versa. The two has talked once before about the situation and Ari may have dodged Nat's inquiries just as much as she sought out her advice, but Nat never thought Ari had real feelings for Tim. At least, not in the same plane as her feelings for Kat.
Natalia snorted lightly at the idea of her having a "love triangle", though, as they approached Versace. "Please, it would hardly be a love triangle." She replied before staring at Arizona with the utmost serious expression on her face. "I'd just have them both to myself. Imagine the hate sex." The last part was spoken with a teasing smirk followed by a giggle, a sign of acquiescence. Natalia wasn't the type to press private matters, especially when in public, but particularly because that wasn't who she was. She was confrontational, sure, but she had limits depending on the situation. And people like Arizona and even Sebastian, were almost as private as Nat. She recognized a request for an out when she saw one. Deflection was very old friend, after all. "Still...it was weird. Gabs was telling her that she needed to wear yellow to keep Tim interested," she explained as she pushed open the door to Versace. "It was weird because there was no reason for that. At all. Tim hasn't given anyone a reason to doubt him, so the idea was unnecessary. I know it's just a color but she knows what it means to convince Kat that. So what's the purpose?"
Ari had to laugh out loud at Nat's response to her comment about the love triangle. It was funny, but in reality, the relationship that Nat and Kat possessed probably was as strong as most romantic relationships. They were best friends, sure, but there was a dependence level there that Ari could only compare to actual relationships, and god only knew how much the two could bicker like an old, married couple. Her expression grew a bit more serious as they entered Versace, after Nat explained what her comment about Kat wearing yellow had meant. That was weird. Ari knew that Gabby and Tim were close too, so knowing that, it seemed all the more weird that she would actually degrade Timothy's character in such a way, when they were friends. It wasn't like a comment like that could be taken as her trying to be a good friend to Kat, while slandering Tim's trustworthiness for good reason, because just as Nat thought, Ari too, agreed that Tim had never done anything to make himself seem uninterested in Katherine. Ari had personal feelings involved, so that probably played a role in her opinion too, but if anything, she felt like Kat didn't have to worry at all about him being interested. Clearly, she thought, that Tim must be over interested in Kat to have broken his non-dating-mantra, just for her. "That is weird," she confirmed, perplexed herself as her eyes scanned their surroundings for their friends. They weren't in sight, even as they continued further into the store, so Ari didn't feel bad about continuing with the conversation. "You never know with Gabby," she stated, considering leaving it at that, because that was the truth, and Ari really didn't know what Gabby's motive could have been. She pondered aloud, about the first thing that popped into her mind a few seconds later, though. "You don't think that she's trying to sabotage their relationship to have Tim for herself, now that she's single, do you?" she asked, followed up by, "And they said this was where we should meet them, right?" She wasn't quite impatient, but given that the store was massive with two floors, Ari didn't want to have to search the entire place only to find out that their friends weren't even in there.
"I don't know what to think. I just know that I don't like it, either way," Natalia murmured as the two girls peered around the store in search of their friends. Nat made it a habit of not Bering too surprised about what others would and could do. She wasn't a fan of having a shock value, particularly one she herself couldn't see coming. So she had made it a priority to not think the worst of Gabrielle earlier upon her first making the color suggestion. It could have been relatively harmless if Nat had made the effort to not think on it too hard. There could have been a balance in color aesthetics; Kat could have been the yellow blending with two greens since the three usually stuck together during parties. At the same time, Natalia was neither optimistic nor naive. She would have never made it this far if she had ever been either. Which was why she couldn't help but him thoughtfully at Arizona's question before having given her response, a nagging feeling in the back of her head.
Just as Nat considered texting Katherine to see where the duo was, her own phone buzzed and Nat pulled it out of her pocket to see the picture and message from her friend. Smirking, and seriously wanting to laugh at how cute the brunette could be by trying to wear a robe over a bikini, Nat nodded to Arizona. "Dressing room, babe. Apparently someone's gotten Versace happy." Natalia explained as she led the way, familiar enough with the store layout to know where the changing rooms were. It wasn't a long walk but it was long enough for her and Arizona to catch the last two sentences Gabrielle fed Katherine from their separate changing stalls. With no indication of the rest of the conversation but their own conversation in mind, Nat gave Arizona a thoughtful sidelong glance before turning her attention back to the stalls. "Cute pic, Kat, but I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with tomorrow's dress code unless that black is the darkest shade of red you could find," she settled on stating as opposed to warning the two girls of their arrival.
It was understandably easier for Katherine to pass right through the store, seemingly bored and uninterested in a way that was uncommon for the shopaholic, but made sense once you considered that this brand was one that was enveloped under the company that her father was the head of. Of course she didn't want to spend time looking at the products, because she had already viewed each and every one of them months before they even hit the shelf. Ari wanted to punch herself merely for the amount of effort she had put into analyzing the girl in the last few minutes, and just because she was overthinking that, she didn't mind pacing herself and Nat a little slower after they left the store, unfortunately, with Ari leaving empty handed. Although she didn't want the bring up what she had texted Nat about earlier, the uncomfortable air she felt whenever she was near Kat, combined with how her head was hurting today merely from all of the overthinking, led her to bring it up... or at least start a conversation that she figured she could lead there. "I heard you're on the verge of being appointed world's worst friend over today's kickball fiasco."
Nat was here out of love.
Having spent a lifetime surrounded by luxury and high-end living, she had grown increasingly unimpressed with the act of shopping. Half of the items in the stores they frequented were already items she either dismissed or already purchased with the exception of those I purchased items due to having already bought something from an African luxury brand. While luxury was luxury, Natalia had never hidden the fact that she preferred Black-owned luxury businesses to...well, the standard. And the standard was supported by enough millionaire and billionaire babies around the world that Nat didn't think they'd really miss her business. Plus, unlike the others (but almost like Kat who received items long before they saw shelf life), Nat already had a selection of bathing suits to choose from at home. It had been delivered upon her father's request, just to outshine Isabel for the petty moment. So Nat didn't really need to be here. That could've also been the sociable introvert in her talking more than the not-easily-impressed side of her, but the point was that Nat was here out of loving Katherine Arnault.
Even if the brunette was adamant that she was not.
Even if Nat found herself keeping Arizona company more-so than the brunette in question.
"I'm always on the verge of being the worst best friend if you ask that child," she replied after a small laugh. Natalia hadn't even taken a side before Kat assumed that she was obviously on Sebastian's. Which meant a very snappy Kat with a sharp glare that warded off any of the brunette's regular tantrum. Whether that has been an acknowledgement that Nat would not deal with Kat's bullshit without hurting her feelings, remained unknown but Kat had passive-aggressively insisted that Nat still come. But made sure Nat knew how upset she was over a situation Katherine had started. "I'll find her a red number in case she actually listens to your friend and wears yellow tomorrow." That was still a puzzling concept to Nat. There was literally no reason for Gabrielle to have insisted that Kat wear yellow and it stuck in Nat's brain. She figured she could always be a fail-safe back-up in case Kat listened and needed to rectify the situation, especially if her insecurities decided to announce their continued existence. But...it still was puzzling. Nat gave Arizona a sidelong glance, contemplative, before inquiring. "So...do we still have a situation or are we pretending like the most pressing matter in your life is the Celine bag you could've let me buy for you?" Natalia gave the redhead a pointed look as she posed the question, a knowing smile forming.
"My aunt and uncle are such control freaks that they probably would have made me return it if I showed up at home with that, without getting their permission," Ari reasoned light-heartedly, as the girls headed down the street. Since Ari had not been present during the morning conversation that involved Gabby suggesting to Kat that it would be fun for her to wear yellow tomorrow to keep Timothy on her toes, she was lost as to what Nat was referring to her, and rather than addressing her own situation first, she returned back to that. "What do you mean? Don't tell me that Kat and Tim are having relationship problems," she said, rolling her eyes. A small voice in the back of her head said, "At least Kat gets to have relationship anything with him, since apparently, she's the only one good enough to meet his relationship standards," but when a countering voice in her head chimed in to remind her that she was just as jealous that Tim got to have relationship problems with Kat, she decided to shut both of those internal voices up for the moment. With Versace in sight, it seemed like now was the best time to talk about this, before Kat was right in front of them. "But yeah, there's not really a situation. I was dramatic this morning, but I guess today reminded me that my non-existent relationship drama sucks, but your love triangle with Sebastian and Kat sucks even more. Two beautiful people feuding over your heart has got to be tough," she teased, deciding that it was easier to leave the topic at that. It was definitely easier to talk about how conflicted she felt over her crush on Kat, and sexuality in general, over text or while intoxicated. Now, she just felt awkward, like her cheeks were on the verge of burning red to signify that.
Nat only rolled her eyes at Arizona's explanation of not letting Natalia purchase the bag for her and she even smirked lightly at the girl's disbelief towards Kat and Tim having possible relationship problems, but her eyebrows rose - an indication of her surprise - at the other girl's display of...jealousy? That was jealousy Nat detected and she was more sure of it being towards Tim having Kat than vice versa. The two has talked once before about the situation and Ari may have dodged Nat's inquiries just as much as she sought out her advice, but Nat never thought Ari had real feelings for Tim. At least, not in the same plane as her feelings for Kat.
Natalia snorted lightly at the idea of her having a "love triangle", though, as they approached Versace. "Please, it would hardly be a love triangle." She replied before staring at Arizona with the utmost serious expression on her face. "I'd just have them both to myself. Imagine the hate sex." The last part was spoken with a teasing smirk followed by a giggle, a sign of acquiescence. Natalia wasn't the type to press private matters, especially when in public, but particularly because that wasn't who she was. She was confrontational, sure, but she had limits depending on the situation. And people like Arizona and even Sebastian, were almost as private as Nat. She recognized a request for an out when she saw one. Deflection was very old friend, after all. "Still...it was weird. Gabs was telling her that she needed to wear yellow to keep Tim interested," she explained as she pushed open the door to Versace. "It was weird because there was no reason for that. At all. Tim hasn't given anyone a reason to doubt him, so the idea was unnecessary. I know it's just a color but she knows what it means to convince Kat that. So what's the purpose?"
Ari had to laugh out loud at Nat's response to her comment about the love triangle. It was funny, but in reality, the relationship that Nat and Kat possessed probably was as strong as most romantic relationships. They were best friends, sure, but there was a dependence level there that Ari could only compare to actual relationships, and god only knew how much the two could bicker like an old, married couple. Her expression grew a bit more serious as they entered Versace, after Nat explained what her comment about Kat wearing yellow had meant. That was weird. Ari knew that Gabby and Tim were close too, so knowing that, it seemed all the more weird that she would actually degrade Timothy's character in such a way, when they were friends. It wasn't like a comment like that could be taken as her trying to be a good friend to Kat, while slandering Tim's trustworthiness for good reason, because just as Nat thought, Ari too, agreed that Tim had never done anything to make himself seem uninterested in Katherine. Ari had personal feelings involved, so that probably played a role in her opinion too, but if anything, she felt like Kat didn't have to worry at all about him being interested. Clearly, she thought, that Tim must be over interested in Kat to have broken his non-dating-mantra, just for her. "That is weird," she confirmed, perplexed herself as her eyes scanned their surroundings for their friends. They weren't in sight, even as they continued further into the store, so Ari didn't feel bad about continuing with the conversation. "You never know with Gabby," she stated, considering leaving it at that, because that was the truth, and Ari really didn't know what Gabby's motive could have been. She pondered aloud, about the first thing that popped into her mind a few seconds later, though. "You don't think that she's trying to sabotage their relationship to have Tim for herself, now that she's single, do you?" she asked, followed up by, "And they said this was where we should meet them, right?" She wasn't quite impatient, but given that the store was massive with two floors, Ari didn't want to have to search the entire place only to find out that their friends weren't even in there.
"I don't know what to think. I just know that I don't like it, either way," Natalia murmured as the two girls peered around the store in search of their friends. Nat made it a habit of not Bering too surprised about what others would and could do. She wasn't a fan of having a shock value, particularly one she herself couldn't see coming. So she had made it a priority to not think the worst of Gabrielle earlier upon her first making the color suggestion. It could have been relatively harmless if Nat had made the effort to not think on it too hard. There could have been a balance in color aesthetics; Kat could have been the yellow blending with two greens since the three usually stuck together during parties. At the same time, Natalia was neither optimistic nor naive. She would have never made it this far if she had ever been either. Which was why she couldn't help but him thoughtfully at Arizona's question before having given her response, a nagging feeling in the back of her head.
Just as Nat considered texting Katherine to see where the duo was, her own phone buzzed and Nat pulled it out of her pocket to see the picture and message from her friend. Smirking, and seriously wanting to laugh at how cute the brunette could be by trying to wear a robe over a bikini, Nat nodded to Arizona. "Dressing room, babe. Apparently someone's gotten Versace happy." Natalia explained as she led the way, familiar enough with the store layout to know where the changing rooms were. It wasn't a long walk but it was long enough for her and Arizona to catch the last two sentences Gabrielle fed Katherine from their separate changing stalls. With no indication of the rest of the conversation but their own conversation in mind, Nat gave Arizona a thoughtful sidelong glance before turning her attention back to the stalls. "Cute pic, Kat, but I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do with tomorrow's dress code unless that black is the darkest shade of red you could find," she settled on stating as opposed to warning the two girls of their arrival.