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Colton King

0 · 1,595 views · located in New York

a character in “A New York Life”, as played by Thunder

Description

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ImageImageFull Name:
Colton Robert King

Nickname:
Cole

Age:
24

DOB:
December 2nd

Sexuality:
Heterosexual
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Likes:
Homemade meals, gambling, beer, weed, sex, Halloween, chocolate, peanut butter, free things, actually having money for once

Dislikes:
Religion, war, cocaine, cats, Indian food, cold weather, waking up before noon, humidity, Star Wars, clingy people, homosexuality, hospitals, people who talk nonstop, iced tea

Personality:
Right now, Colton would describe himself as being a hard worker. He works five days a week, eight hours a day, and doesn't complain about it. When he's not working, he has a tendency to switch between being distant (and high) and a jerk (and drunk). He's constantly being an ass to people, because for the most part, he's not interacting with people at all. More than anything, he tends to be distant and in his own world. On his day off or after work, he wakes up, goes out for a smoke and to get something to eat, and if he has the money, he'll pick up a case of beer. Then, he'll either pour the beers into a McDonald's cup and roam around as he drinks, or go back to his apartment to get drunk and pass out. He's in his own world, just trying to relax, and really isn't the kind of guy who's trying to strike up conversation or make friendships with people. However, when he gets enough alcohol in him, or when he's sober and is bored and sees a fun opportunity, he can definitely be a pain in the ass. He likes to push people's buttons and get reactions out of people for his own amusement. He can be crass, derogatory and immature, and depending on the level of intoxication, aggressive too. Colton lacks morals in a lot of situations, and is the type of guy who really is only focused on his own needs and desires. Like they say, it's a dog eat dog world, and Colton's not trying to waste his time, energy or money, on helping someone else, when he's already struggling himself.

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Occupation:
He works at a deli five days a week.

Hometown:
Lancaster, PA: 0-2 years old
Fort Bragg, NC: 2-6 years old
Fort Hood, TX: 6-8 years old
Lancaster, PA: 8-10 years old
Fort Benning, GA: 10-13 years old
Lancaster, PA: 13-18 years old
New York, NY: 18-24 years old

Background:
His scattered childhood is probably an indication that he was part of a military family. His father, Colonel Robert H. King, proudly served in the US army for 30 years, and was deployed four times, for nine months a piece. Joining the army was something that was expected of Robert, so when he and his wife, Laura, had four children, Robert expected the same of them. He believed that it was their duty to serve their country and continue the proud and respected King lineage. As a kid, Colton didn't object to the idea. Like most little boys, his father was his hero, and he wanted to be just like him. His three older brothers all joined the army when they turned eighteen, so for most of his childhood, it really was just what he expected to do when he got older. Aside from the whole moving around a lot, and missing his father frequently, Colton's childhood was pretty average. His dad held a high enough ranking where he made decent money, and his mother worked as a nurse.

He only began to question his future when he turned ten, and his father was scheduled to deploy again. That meant that they had to leave their home in Pennsylvania, and again relocate to a military base, where his father would train before deploying. It wasn't fair. He had just finally started to make friends again, and he was on a baseball team that he loved, and now they had to leave? He had to make new friends, start at a new school, and get into a new routine, all over again. He didn't want to leave, and when he got to Georgia, his resentment for the move made him resistant to making new friends. He didn't end up making any, and in the process, actually became a target for bullies. This was before he hit puberty, so he was just a scrawny kid who couldn't do much for himself. His brothers were all either in high school, or graduated by that point, and even though he needed their protection, he never went home crying about the bullying. It would probably only result in a beating from his father, who would see it as his son being weak and a disappointment. Those pent up emotions turned into anger, and by the time his father came home, Colton had declared that he hated him. He hated him for ruining his life and putting his career aspirations over his family.

This was more than teen angst, and even when they moved back home to Pennsylvania and Colton had the chance to stay in one place for his entire high school career, he didn't soften up again. He shut his family out, barely made it through school to get his diploma, and decided that he was going to go to college, and not join the army. He had been saying that for years, but apparently, his father thought that he would change his mind come his eighteenth birthday. When he didn't, his father told him that they weren't going to pay for school, and he had to move out. With too much of an ego to beg his parents to let him stay, he packed his bags and never went back. One of his friends was going to school in New York and was living off campus. He offered Colton his couch if he'd pay part of the rent, and Colton agreed. He got a job at a deli during the day, and in a retail store as an overnight freight worker. He made enough money to get by, and did this for three years, until his roommate decided to move in with his girlfriend, and Colton managed to find his own apartment in a surprisingly affordable building downtown.

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Face Claim:
Harvey Newton Haydon

Height:
6'2

Hair Color:
Dark brown

Eye Color:
Blue

So begins...

Colton King's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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Had Makayla not skillfully and quickly directed the conversation to another topic, Holly would have lingered on why she thought Cara could still take her to the movies. Cara never acted offended or bothered by Holly asking if they could partake in certain activities, such as going to the movies or stopping in a store that had something in the window that caught Holly's eye. Growing up in a household where money was scarce, and then being taken in by Makayla, Holly knew what the value of a dollar was to an extent, and that she couldn't get everything she wanted, but that principal didn't seem - or need - to exist when she was with Cara. The blonde didn't splurge tremendously on Holly, but she never objected to simple requests that Holly made, for things that would be luxuries if Makayla was the one paying for it.

"I did tell you about what me and Cara did! Maybe you weren't listening," Holly objected, a slight frown falling in place before quickly disappearing when she began to talk again. "But I can tell you again!" she exclaimed, because it was nearly impossible for her to turn down an opportunity to tell a story, especially when it had actually been requested. "At night time, after you came back home, I wanted to come home too but Cara said that I couldn't, so I stayed at her house and watched TV, and then I fell asleep, and then in the morning I woke up and I woke Cara up too because I didn't know what to do, because at our house I always wake you up in the morning too when I wake up, right? And I was going to wake up Brooklyn and Nick and Roman and Ryan too, because they all live at Cara's house too, but I decided to only wake her up, and then she let me watch TV again and she went back to sleep because she needs so much sleep, and then after that, a little bit later, she woke up again, and we went and we got breakfast at a restaurant. I got pancakes with sugar on them, because that's something you can get at the restaurant we went to, and then we went to the store and bought all of the stuff I showed you, remember? My chips and all of my stuff. Then we came back here and Chanel was here but then she left to go to the spa with Cara, and then you got to be with me again." The recollection took less than a minute to tell, but Holly had become engulfed in it enough that she had missed Cara leaving the apartment in a hurry. She was going to continue, and remind Makayla of everything that the two of them had done this morning together, just in case her memory had been erased for that part of the day too, but she opted against it in favor of agreeing with Colton, who had come over midway through her response to her sister. "Yeah, people with tattoos can't be boring. You're not boring and Kay's not boring and Roman, the boy with the tattoos, is not boring either. He got me lemonade yesterday because he's really nice and not boring." Kacey addressed her after she finished with that comment, or at least, Holly thought that she was addressing her, despite her eyes being on Makayla. She was the only one with a plate left on the table, and though there was still a piece or two of turkey left, she wasn't going to eat it. She picked the pieces off, placed them on the bare table in front of Makayla, and jumped out of her chair to hand the plate to Kacey, who stood over the dishwasher. "Do you love doing the dishes so much?" Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Chanel heading towards the front door of the apartment, but her mind was still moving too fast for her to switch tasks and address that immediately. Instead, she followed up her first question with another. "Wanna make your cinnamon rolls now? I'll help you while Makayla does our laundry," she offered, in a way that was more like insisting than actually neutrally offering.

When Nick appeared in the kitchen, Holly's first thought wasn't to comment on the bag of drugs in his hand, but on the fact that she had forgotten to include him in her list of people who had tattoos. She spun around to look at Colton, and pointed towards Nick eagerly. "And I totally forgot, but Nick has tattoos too and he's not boring, even though he's quiet sometimes and doesn't like it when you make Brooklyn angry." With that off of her mind, she was able to process why Nick was standing there, and her frown quickly returned. "Makayla doesn't do drugs," she answered for her sister in a defensive manner. Holly was ignorant to a lot of things, but she had grown up around drugs for far too long to not know what they were, and be able to identify the major ones. She knew that Makayla drank, but whenever she identified the smell of weed on Makayla, her sister claimed that it was just air freshener that she was smelling, and by now, Holly just related the smell to being air freshener. However, even if she had been tricked into not being able to identify it by smell, she could tell what it was that Nick was holding in a visual respect, and she knew it was something that was bad.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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#, as written by Bandit
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By now, Makayla was more than used to Holly's version of storytelling. It usually began in the right direction, as if she were going to actually answer what Makayla had asked, and then would quickly spiral into a completely different conversation since her sister had a tendency to focus on minute details that would seem irrelevant to anyone else. She would get fixated on things, and though sometimes they were harmless things, like seeing a dog that looked similar to one she had seen the day before and talking about it for the next five days, they were sometimes more detrimental... or at least detrimental to Makayla's mental health. Sometimes even those things would seem trivial to other people, like Holly constantly bringing up the fact that she was one of the few kids her age that didn't have a phone, or that she wished that they lived somewhere with a pool. To an extent, they were still harmless comments, but they got under Makayla's skin after hearing about it day in and day out. She knew Holly didn't mean it this way, but after a while, she was able to convince herself into feeling like the girl was ungrateful. Did she not realize that Makayla had dropped out of college for her? That, in itself, was a huge deal, since Makayla grew up in an area where a lot of kids didn't finish high school... nonetheless "beat the odds" and go on to college, and actually want to be there. Was Holly uncaring towards Makayla working herself in a mental state of despair to try to keep both of them afloat, when it seemed like the world was working against them? Did she not realize that not only did Makayla have to sacrifice much of her own childhood to grow up and play mom and dad to Holly, but now she was having to sacrifice her young adult like too? The years that were supposed to be "the best of her life"?

Always, after all of these questions played through her mind, Makayla had to remind herself that no, Holly didn't realize that. It was as simple as that. The girl was oblivious and ignorant and all of that was okay and excusable, because she didn't mean to be that way. She didn't want to be that way. It wasn't the child's fault that she had been brought up in a hellish environment, where the learning and emotional disabilities she was born with were worsened to an extreme due to the treatment she received there. That wasn't her fault, and though Makayla knew that it wasn't her fault either, she also knew that she would never be able to go through with the thoughts that sometimes filled her mind, about just finally breaking free from this life, leaving Holly with protective services, and "doing herself". She would never let herself live it down, and if she thought she had a problem with alcohol and marijuana now, she knew it would only take days after going through with that plan for her to overdose. Whether she just had too big of a conscience, loved Holly too much, or couldn't let someone else go through life knowing that they were abandoned the way that her mother had done to her, she knew that this was her life, and Holly's quirks were all things she had to take in stride.

Coming to terms that this was her "usual" didn't mean that she was comfortable with it though. Anyone in her position would attest to how taxing it was, and how easy it was to get exhausted when every five minutes she had to redirect Holly back to whatever they were doing. Sometimes, the easiest thing to do was to ask her to talk, like she had done now, with the recollection of what she had done with Cara. At least she knew that for those thirty seconds, she wasn't infringing upon anyone else's personal space, she wasn't getting into things that didn't belong to them, and she wasn't running out of sight. Today, after those thirty seconds were up, Makayla struggled to muster up more strength to redirect Holly's focus back to her when she shot over to Kacey to give her the plate, and then started talking to Colton. The last thing that she wanted to deal with was Nick coming in and putting her in that situation. Not only did it bother her in the obvious way, since Holly knowing that she smoked a lot was something that she did her best to conceal (and Nick knew that), but that he was saying it right in front of her new roommate, and Colton, as well. She knew that there were a lot of people nowadays who weren't against the drug, but it just went back to the same reason she had for a lot of things, that she didn't want to be "that" roommate. For one, she didn't really want people to know any more about her than necessary, and two, she didn't need any more reasons for people to dislike her, when she had a preconceived notion that Holly would find a way to get them on people's bad sides before long.

She stood up quickly upon Holly's defensive comment and wrapped an arm around her shoulder to usher her back towards their bedroom, knowing that now, they definitely needed to go. "I said I'm good today," she said, glancing at Nick, clearly annoyed, because at this point, she really didn't have the strength to hide it. What point of "no" didn't he understand? "Not today, no thanks," she followed up with a beat later, an attempt at partly trying to seem more polite, and also trying to solidify that she wasn't in the mood to be persuaded into saying yes. He had just given her one more reason for her head to ache, on top of the thousand she already had, and though smoking sounded great at the moment, she couldn't do it for more than one reason. "Come on, Holly," she said, nudging her towards the hallway. "We're going to go do that laundry." She looked back, only for a second, to offer Kacey a smile. "Thanks again for the food." Although she didn't want to touch on the subject of the drugs any more than was necessary, she knew Holly, and she knew that if she didn't bring it up, Holly would. "I don't know why he said that, Holl. You know how I always say boys are dumb, right? He was probably just being dumb and trying to make a joke." She didn't want to give Holly a chance to linger on it, so she kept talking, hoping to direct her attention elsewhere as they entered their bedroom. "Grab the bag over by the window with our clothes in it. It's not too heavy, do you want to hold it while we walk? I have to make sure we have enough change." While some of the laundromats in the city were upgraded to a point where you could use a prepaid card or in some, even a credit card, to pay for laundry, the one that was closest to them still only offered the traditional quarter option. It was a nuisance only because she always seemed to have no change on her on her laundry days, but she preferred that struggle over going to a more expensive one that had more modern machines.

She grabbed her purse, and also Holly's backpack, since she knew that she needed to have something on hand to occupy her for the hour that they would be waiting for the laundry, and without wasting much time, led her back out of the bedroom. "Come on, we don't want to get there too late and have all of the machines be taken," she said as they neared the main area of the apartment, hoping that comment would be enough to herd her out without any unnecessary conversation with those still in the kitchen. As they left, she tossed Holly's backpack over her shoulder and rummaged through her bag for the change she needed. As she was doing so, she got a text, and thinking it was from Cara, she opened it right away, only to find that it wasn't from that blonde, but another. Brooklyn. It read, "Hey, random text, ik but just wanted you to know that Nick and I are done. Spoke w Cara too. I didn't mention your name so you shouldn't have any problems but just wanted you to know what's up." She was still typing as Makayla finished reading that one, and a second later, another message popped up. "And since it's gonna bother me if I feel like I'm in debt too you, I can get you a job where I work if you still need something. I can bring you tonight around 8 to meet my boss if you want." Makayla didn't let herself process how random the text was since she and Brooklyn were not friends, or what implications Nick and Cara knowing might mean for her, especially with Cara still not having answered her. All she could focus on was the second text, and how badly she actually did need money right now, and her answer was a very quick, "yeah, that'd be great. thanks!"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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#, as written by Thunder
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"See, Kace, I'm not boring. This girl seems like she knows what's boring and what's not, so her word stands," Colton insisted, moving over to the counter beside the dishwasher and leaning against it as he spoke to Kacey. He liked egging Holly on on this matter, only because he could feel the tension eradiating from Kacey. That was one of her flaws, or so he liked to tell her so - she was too easy to read, and therefore, too easy to have her buttons pushed.

"I don't think anyone 'loves doing dishes," Kacey responded, a bit of a curious expression left on her face - or forced onto her face - since it seemed better to look perplexed as to why anyone would ask that, than annoyed at the question. She took Holly's plate nonetheless, and placed it into the dishwasher along with the rest of the dirty plates and utensils from the sink. As she closed it up and turned it on, Chanel and Nick entered the main area of the apartment. Kacey hadn't seen Nick the night before, since he was already out by the time she had gotten to Cara's, so she wasn't sure who he was, and figured he was a friend of Chanel's. Maybe a boyfriend, and if that was the case, Kacey could not blame her. Her preference definitely was heavily favoring females nowadays, and when it came to men, she liked them dark, but that didn't mean that she couldn't acknowledge that Nick was a good looking guy. A little thin for her tastes, but standing beside Chanel, she noted that they were a cute couple. Something about his appearance made it unsurprising that he proposed smoking to Makayla, who seemed bothered by the inquiry and shut it down quickly, although she didn't actually shut the idea of her being a smoker down entirely. Which was interesting. For no reason, really, but it was just one more thing that Kacey learned about the girl today. Being pro-weed wasn't a bad thing in her book. She would smoke occasionally, in a recreational manner, so she didn't frown upon it, but she just hadn't pinned Makayla as being a marijuana enthusiast. However, it wasn't like she could blame her. Kacey hadn't known Holly for a day, and was craving a nice, serene, high.

"Damn, this is the apartment with the good food and the 4/20-friendly motto? I should have taken you up on the offer to switch rooms when it was still on the table," Colton said to Kacey, though loudly enough for it to be directed at the group as a whole. He too, noticed Chanel letting Nick in, and instantly, he wanted to associate that with why she had ditched him, and hadn't seemed as into him as he was hoping. Nick was probably her boyfriend. It made sense that a girl like her wasn't going to be single anyway, now that he thought about it. "I don't think we met. I'm Colton," he said, trying out this friendly personality and being "extra", as Kacey would put it. He gave the guy a greeting sort-of nod, wanting to ask what he was to Chanel, but knowing that would be inappropriate and weird, given the circumstances. Instead, he turned back to Kacey. "Wanna wrap me up a piece of that so I don't starve come dinner time, or should I just come back here and keep you company? What do you say, six o'clock sound good?" She had her back to Colton now as she began to transfer the lasagna into a container to be refrigerated, but rolled her eyes at him nonetheless. "Nah, I'm finally getting rid of you, and your leeching ways. You've gotta learn how to cook something besides those nasty microwavable mac and cheese cups anyway. Now's a good time for you to start," she said, sealing the lid on the container as a sign that she really wasn't going to give him any. It was petty, maybe, considering that she did have more than enough to share, but she had already shared with him, and she didn't just slave away over the stove for that long, just to give it all away. She wanted this to last her for a few days, at least, and she had a feeling (or maybe a hope) that she would be sharing with Makayla and Holly again soon anyway.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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#, as written by Thunder
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Like most days after work, Colton was tired and didn't want to do much. After his roommate, Isaac, had abruptly moved out a few days before, he was understandably more comfortable in the apartment. The apartment manager promised that soon enough, someone new would be moving in so he shouldn't get too comfortable with being alone, but that didn't stop Colton with making himself at home for now. He had spent most of the past few days walking around in his underwear, pizza boxes, empty beer cans, and deli takeout bags covering the kitchen and living room floor, when his pathetic attempts at throwing them across the apartment, into the garbage can, failed miserably. It was a Tuesday, which meant that his routine tonight should have followed that one of yesterday, which consisted of going to work, coming home, eating, drinking, and watching television until he passed out drunk on the couch, or had the energy to get up and go to bed.

Today, however, was a slight exception, and only because of what tomorrow was. December 2nd. His 25th birthday. Damn, I'm fucking old... was all that he could think when he was reminded of that, and honestly, if he had had it his way, he wouldn't have been reminded of it. He didn't have any friends, outside of the guys he worked with, so it wasn't like he would actually do anything to celebrate it. Maybe in a week, he would teasingly bring it up to Kacey, about how she had forgotten to get him a gift, to make her feel guilty enough to cook him dinner or something, if he was hungry, but overall, he didn't want the attention of it being his birthday. However, the deli that he worked at was family owned, and while that was nice in a few ways, like not having any official corporate rules to follow, and actually knowing the people who signed his checks, it also made that they liked to be sentimental, especially with the employees that they liked. And that meant refusing to schedule Colton to work on his birthday, and still giving him his pay for the day. He had insisted multiple times that he wanted to work, but they wouldn't let up, suggesting that if he did come in, they would spend the entirety of his shift singing happy birthday to him and informing customers that it was "his special day". It was nice that the owners liked and cared about him, especially since they were close to his parents age and offered him a little reminder of home, but the majority of him didn't want or need that reminder, and when the playful pestering had begun to annoy him, he just agreed to stay home. At first, the idea of spending all night tonight drinking, and doing the same tomorrow, sounded enticing, but now that he had only been home for a couple of hours and was already through with the six pack of beers that he had left in his fridge, the idea seemed more boring. It was abnormal of him to crave company, but since he lacked a roommate for the time being, and that wasn't something he had ever experienced, it was a transition that he hadn't fully come to terms with yet.

To: Kacey
It's my birthday tomorrow and ik you forgot since you're a bad friend, but bring the hot model chick over to my apartment tonight so I can have something to celebrate

It took a few minutes, but by the time that Colton had managed to fill the trash can with the layer of garbage he had allowed to accumulate on his floor, his phone buzzed with a response from Kacey reading, "Is it rly ur bday?". He responded quickly with, "Why would I make that up...? Just bring her, since I know you didn't get me a present., and got a text back almost instantly saying, "yeah bc a girl like her has nothing better to do than hangout with you. smh you're stupid. you couldn't even hold a convo with her for 3 minutes and you think she wants to give u bday sex?". Birthday sex would be nice, but Colton wasn't aiming that high. "Nah, just someone to pregame with and then go to a bar with or something. Someone who's not gonna take me to a gay bar like you". He knew that that would get Kacey to respond, and it did, with, "you're fucking annoying. i'll tell her ur thirsty for her, but i wouldn't hold ur breath if i were you." That was all he could ask of her to do, he supposed, since he was too comfortable in just his boxers, at the moment, to actually go across the hall and be a gentleman and try to talk to Chanel on his own.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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Although she had really been planning on telling Colton about the party right after she and Chanel decided on it, she had completely forgotten until around seven-thirty, when she was returning from the liquor store. She had told Chanel that in addition to chipping in for whatever she ended up buying, that she would cover the liquor purchases. She bought a bottle of vodka, whiskey and tequila, as well as a twenty-four pack of beer, a cheap bottle of wine, and some mixers. All in all, she spent a lot more than she had wanted to spend, and after her plans on a roommate failed, she knew that it was really stupid to waste money, but she was also in a "fuck it" mindset. If she was going to waste money on anything, alcohol seemed like it was worth it.

When she had finally remembered to text Colton about it, she definitely didn't get the response that she was looking for. His "uh... no thanks" had done nothing short of infuriate her. She knew that Colton was all talk when he was obnoxious and acting like he was the king of the world, who wanted everyone to bow down to him, but he was not allowed to play the shy and uninterested card now, when everyone was going out of their way for him. When her multiple calls to him went unanswered, she ended up not even stopping back in her apartment, once she returned from the liquor store. She headed straight for his apartment, and after a couple of seconds worth of banging on his door, he finally opened it. In only boxers and a tank top, she could tell that he was serious about not being interested in the party, and that had pissed her off even more. She somehow managed to force him to get dressed, but he had found his way back to his couch before she could actually get him out of the door.

"A birthday party is actually probably the last thing that I wanted. I don't want a bunch of people that I don't even know to think that I'm a loser and have no friends, so here I am, chilling with them, the night before my birthday."

"For starters, your ass better be thankful that anyone's doing any type of shit for you. Secondly, it's not about to be 'a bunch of people'. I think she said she's inviting Makayla and her sister, and then it'll probably just be the other guys that live with us. You ain't that special, that she's corralling all her friends over here for you. Thirdly, everyone knows you're a loser with no friends. Throwing a party for you isn't what's making that obvious, and lastly, you're the one who was up in my phone's inbox crying over having nothing to do."

"Look, Kace; I'm not like you. I don't like being the center of attention of everything. All I wanted to do was go out with a hot chick and get drinks, not play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey with the neighbors. Just tell her that I'm sick and that I said thanks for the thought, but I'm going to bed early."

"Yeah... how about no. I'm gonna give you ten seconds to get your ass off of this couch. I just spent more than I wanna think about on alcohol because God only knows that I need to get fucked up tonight, and I wasn't about to let this poor girl do all of the work for your ungrateful ass, so you're coming, whether I've gotta tie a rope around your neck and drag you there myself."

"Whoa, whoa, Kace. Let's not whip out that sexual card. I'm not into that weird bondage shit that I know you do with your lesbian pals."

That warranted a slap to the side of his head and a a deep-set scowl, but she would let him get away with that comment, without any further injuries, just because it was his birthday tomorrow and she had just gotten a text from Chanel, so she knew that they needed to get on with this. "Just get up, and help me bring this stuff over. The guy at the liquor store must've legit thought I was some sort of alcoholic when I walked out of here with all of this."

Alright, alright. I'll come if it'll make you happy, but just know that I'm doing you a favor."

"You better drop that attitude because I will actually kill you if you're a dick after she put this together for you."

"Hey, you know me. I'm nothing short of charming around pretty girls. Well, you actually probably don't know that side of me well, but, you'll see it tonight." He was quick enough that time, to avoid her hand that lunged towards his face, and now, he could smirk at that accomplishment and getting a reaction out of her. He grabbed the case of beer and one of the three plastic bags that she had set on his counter minutes before, and after she had picked up the rest, led her out of the apartment. Luckily, the door was still unlocked, so with her hands fun, Kacey didn't have to search for her key in her purse, and instead, just pushed the door open, and left Colton to close it behind them. "Hey, hey, hey," she said, flashing Chanel a friendly smile as she spotted her in the kitchen. "Got the booze, and the birthday boy," she said, referencing Chanel's text that had been left unanswered, only since it seemed unnecessary since they were on their way over. As Colton followed her over, placing the bags of mixers and alcohol on the counter, the elbow to the side that Kacey gifted him with was a reminder that it was time for his charm to kick in. Not like it wasn't going to on its own anyway, but seeing that Chanel had actually prepared something had made him embarrassed. He really didn't want people doing anything for him, and it made him feel guilty that she had actually done this for him. Maybe it was because it had been years since anyone had actually thrown him a party for his birthday... it had actually been since he left home, and that reminder made him feel strange, but not necessarily in a bad way. It wasn't triggering or anything, and if anything, it was kind of nice, considering that this girl barely knew him, and yet cared enough to do this. "Hey," he began, smiling at Chanel, though he couldn't help but allow his eyes to rove over more than just her face for a few seconds. "I was telling Kacey that you really didn't need to do this for me. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's really nice and all, but I didn't want anyone to go to any trouble for me over a stupid birthday."

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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Only shortly after Roman had vanished through the door did Kacey appear with Colton. She waved her hands excitedly, albeit having more of a timid nature to her than she usually would. This restraint was entirely due to the lack of confidence she was feeling as the night progressed. She'd promised something huge--which, as most things with her, was just a dramaturgical fiction construed in her head. She'd never promised anything unreasonably extravagant--- and she'd hyped it up to a level that would have had one expecting a full apartment with lots of gifts and balloons. Balloons! How could she forget balloons? Not realizing her running around all day with mild exhaustion could have taken some part in that, she believed she'd committed some kind of unforgivable sin, and wouldn't blame Colton if he'd scowled the entire night because of the lack of them. Of course, in reality, as with most people with the dramatics of a normal person, no one would have cared or even noticed the absence of balloons, let alone Colton who Chanel still hadn't figured out was the kind of guy who was, unthinkably, not into flashy things. If she'd known that he actually didn't want the party, not because it was a terrible party, but because he actually didn't want a party, she would have exiled herself in her room and cried wondering why God was set on making her life miserable. She'd claim that this was her punishment for some awful thing she did in high school, or to her parents, or her brothers, likely something that no one remembered but her. But since that wasn't the case, and she still felt a personal responsibility to make this thing work, she wore a smile, as heavy as it was, and stepped out of the way for Kacey and Colton to put the alcohol down.

Much to her surprise, Colton didn't look at all peeved with the lack of superficial necessities. If anything, he was being modest, and not just trying to be polite. His prolonged gaze didn't go unnoticed--and she wondered momentarily if he even wanted it to--but she hardly minded it. There wasn't anything to see under the hoodie she'd been running around all day in and her mess of curls that she was convinced looked like something out of a really bad movie scene. Chanel had never been uncomfortable with people, namely guys, looking at her. That was only because she felt a sense of self-importance and got validation from it. But that was when she actually thought she looked good. Now, while it was a relief to see he was dressed casually as well--even though, realistically, why wouldn't he be?--she was already feeling self conscious. Because she was in a mindset of self doubt, second guessing, and general over-complication, she had a hard time deciphering if he was checking her out, or judging her. In some ways to shield herself, Chanel crisscrossed her hands repeatedly over her chest, shaking her head that it was no problem. "No, no, no. It wasn't any trouble at all. I mean, I know it's pretty, well," In place of finding the right adjective, she stuck her tongue out to imitate disgust. "Like, I couldn't get everything. It was all kind of last minute, but that's totally okay because it's your birthday. You have to celebrate! I mean, it looks kinda lame right now, but everyone's gonna come, and Roman's getting the pizza, and it'll be super fun. I promise." She spoke assuredly quick, as if she was trying to convince him of something before he realized he needed convincing. Instead of it being due to having a lack of a filter, this time her rambling came from nerves, and not the good kind you were supposed to have. Not the giddy, impatient with anticipation nerves like the ones you'd have at a concert or a wedding--where there would also be balloons. It was the stomach cramps and clammy hands, the unsteady, discomforting heartbeat, the replaying of many hypotheticals that entertained the endless possibilities of this all going wrong.

"Kacey, thanks so much, by the way," she said, leaning around Colton to see the girl. "Wow, you got so much!" She was genuinely surprised. She'd already been hesitant about having Kacey help out, even though she was glad the girl had done so anyway. Chanel was only mildly disappointed because, as the trend of the night was to poke small holes at her happiness and fill them with disappointment, she would have to, God forbid, restrain herself. She couldn't go to work in three hours drunk, even if it was supposed to be pretty relaxed since it was just a store reset. Having to behave like an adult, at twenty-two years old, was something Chanel still didn't grasp because she tried to avoid it as much as possible. She had half the mind to, again, behave carelessly and call out of work tonight, but she figured it might save her if she ended up needing to abandon ship. "That's so great though. This is going to be really fun," she said, unsure of how many times she'd uttered some variation of that sentence by now. The Law of Attraction. Something her mother always went on about it. Speak it into existence enough, and it will become true. The more she focused on positive thoughts, the more positive things would come her way. It sure would be nice if that pizza was on the way though. "Oh," she said as she reached beside Kacey, looking to both of them while she picked up a party hat, which was now seeming like a dumber idea. "I got party hats. Remember these?" she asked as she tugged the string under her chin, only for it to pop, unable to stretched the length of her face coupled with the volume of her hair. "Ouch. Okay, don't touch those; they're dangerous." She sat the broken hat back down on the counter while she rubbed the pink mark growing on the side of her face. "Colton, what kind of music do you like? I'll go get my speakers so we can play some music."

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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Brooklyn only had to wait outside of Chanel's apartment for two or three minutes before Roman appeared at the end of the hallway. Her straight faced expression transformed into one with a small smile as she watched him approach, though. "Look at you running errands and shit, being a nice guy. Are you sleeping with her?" Brooklyn teased once he reached the apartment. She did as he asked and opened up the door, allowing Roman to enter first, only because his hands really were full, and it seemed easier to allow him to go in first, than to offer to take something from him. While she had been waiting for Roman, she convinced herself that there really was no reason to worry about Nick being there. He was the one in the wrong and he still wanted her back, at least according to their last conversation, so she still held the upper hand in the relationship, which she liked. Additionally, to squash her fears even further, she told herself that Roman would have, or should have warned her if Nick was going to be there, even if, if he had done that, she probably would have responded with something snarky about how Nick held no power over her, and she didn't care where he was.

Roman wasn't necessarily surprised that the first thing out of Brooklyn's mouth was something snarky and untrue. They'd known each other for years and so it went without saying that he was quite comfortable with her, but that didn't mean she wasn't any less annoying. It shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did because it wasn't that he thought Chanel was some kind of vile, untouchable person. She just embodied everything he tried to avoid, everything that made him anxious. Not only that, be she was a stranger, and she hung out with Cara--at least, that's what he assumed was still happening. If anything, it really only bothered him because Chanel bothered him, and he still didn't think it was fair that he had to move everything last minute. But he also couldn't ignore the fact that, despite not really being present since switching spaces, being in 5B came with a lot less turmoil than being in 5C did. Roman came very close to saying something he knew was out of line, something involving Nick and Cara, but he'd rethought this before actually saying anything. He really only tried holding his tongue around Brooke when he didn't think she needed to be checked, and right now, it was clear she was only joking. He would have returned with something of equal caliber, but Roman didn't have the energy to banter with her right now, so he only scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Shut up," he muttered, his tone clearly bitter, but also tired and finite as he shuffled through the door.

"I'll take that as a no," Brooklyn said, her eyebrows raising curiously at his bothered response, but her smile speaking to how she didn't really care, or think much of his tone. She followed in behind him and closed the door once she was inside. It was uncommon for her to be in this apartment because before Roman and Nick had moved in a few days ago, she had no friends living there. There were times when Holly would insist that Brooklyn come across the hall to show her something, when she and Makayla were still living in 5B, but other than that, and the few times that she would follow Nick in as he dropped off the drugs that Makayla stored for him, she had no real reason to be there. Regardless, the inside of the apartment wasn't shockingly nice or poor looking, but maybe that was because she was so used to her apartment being decorated by Cara. That wasn't extremely luxurious either, but it just made Brooklyn less awestruck by the nicer touches that Chanel had added to hers. She didn't know much about Chanel, but aside from the times that they passed on neutral territory, such as in the hallway or mail room, the times that they were interacting usually involved Chanel being in her apartment visiting Cara. Just knowing Cara, and the type of person that she was, it made sense to Brooklyn that in order for Cara to interact with Chanel in such a friendly manner, Chanel had to be similar to Cara in more ways than them both being tall and pretty. Brooklyn assumed that Chanel had money too, even if it wasn't to the extent that Cara possessed it, so while normally, she would have found it to be courteous to bring something over, even just her own booze to drink, she didn't feel that it was necessary in this case. She believed that Chanel could play hostess without a second thought about anyone else contributing anything, so she didn't feel guilty coming over empty handed. When she now found out that Chanel had went to the extent to order pizzas for them too, she decided that she wasn't going to feel guilty about helping herself to that, either.

As she followed Roman into the kitchen where he would set the food down, she realized that she wasn't actually sure who this party was for. Chanel, Kacey and Colton were all visible in the apartment, but she couldn't remember whether Roman had said that it was for Colton or Kacey, or if he had even said who it was for at all. She was pretty convinced that it wasn't for Chanel, only because she got the feeling that Chanel wouldn't be throwing a party for herself, but at the same time, she wasn't positive. They were too close to the others now, for her to ask without them possibly overhearing, and making things awkward, so she decided that it would be easier to just figure it out as the night went along. The bottles of alcohol on the counter increased her uncaring attitude towards who the party was being thrown for anyway, because who was going to turn down free liquor? Brooklyn certainly wasn't, but she also wasn't going to be classless enough to lunge for it, at least until someone else opened the bottles first. "Mmmm, looks festive in here," she hummed, (mostly referring to alcohol, which was the only party indicator she needed) to no one in particular, but it was the closest that she was going to get to being polite and actually saying hi to the trio that she wasn't actually friendly with.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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The way that Chanel was so animated was strangely endearing to Colton. Normally, something like that would tire him out really quickly, and maybe it was only because he actually didn't know Chanel and hadn't hung out with her for more than ten or fifteen minutes total, that it hadn't lost its charm yet. Despite that possibility, for now he couldn't help but to genuinely smile as she explained herself, somehow discrediting what she had put together, as if he had expected something bigger. Needless to say, Colton hadn't been expecting anything, and even when Kacey said that Chanel was putting something together for him, he really just thought it was going to be some people drinking in her apartment. He didn't expect the birthday hats and confetti and her ordering pizzas. That was a lot-- too much-- but still very nice, nonetheless. As Colton had recalled earlier, he hadn't had an actual birthday celebration since leaving home. Birthdays at home were always a big deal, mostly since his mother was very sentimental. He never did anything with friends really, at least not in the traditional manner. On his seventeenth birthday, he and some friends crashed a party that they weren't invited to and ended up smoking a ton of weed on someone's bong and stealing it at the end of the night, but he never had friends who would actually throw him a party. His birthday parties growing up were nothing more than his mom baking a ton of desserts, forcing him to sit through everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him, and then him getting some decent gifts. Looking back at it, the memories seemed a lot nicer than they did when he was living them, but that was nostalgia for you.

He couldn't stop himself from laughing for just a quick second, before he could suppress it, when Chanel attempted to put on one of the party hats. There it went again... and Colton didn't even know what "it" was, but he just knew that "it" was an irregular reaction in him, because he normally didn't get weird feelings in his stomach around girls who he wanted to sleep with. Was it because Chanel wasn't just some hot chick anymore, who he liked to undress in his head when she crossed his path? She was actually cute, in a personality sort of way? She was quirky and "a lot at once", but it was in a way that only made him want to stand there and watch her more. He liked how quickly she moved and spoke, because it allowed him to actually just watch her with a goofy smile on his face, without it seeming too weird that he wasn't responding to each and everyone one of her comments. When she brought up his taste in music, he shrugged and said, "I'm cool with anything other than country music. No offense, if you're into that kind of stuff, but yeah, I'm sure I'll like whatever you put on." It was true that his tastes in music weren't very exclusive. He was into pretty mainstream stuff and that stupid voice in the back of his head sneered at him, as it reminded him that he'd probably quickly like whatever Chanel put on, if it was something that she liked.

"Yeah, put on something good," Kacey chimed in a beat later. She had mimicked Colton's laugh at Chanel's party hat mishap, but had been less worried about cutting her laughter short, at Chanel's expense. She didn't mean the snicker to be anything other than out of amusement, and when Chanel started to ask Colton about music, she returned her attention to the alcohol. She wasn't sure what she wanted at first, but looking at the choice of mixers, she ended up making herself a screwdriver, composed of vodka and orange juice. "Can I make you guys something?" she offered to both Colton and Chanel, just before the apartment door opened and Brooklyn and Roman came in. "I'm just gonna start with a beer," Colton responded, as he opened up the case of beers. They were still cold now, but he figured that it was probably better to keep them in the fridge so that it stayed that way. He didn't think it would have been a big deal to just put them in himself, but just to be safe, he glanced back at Chanel as he headed towards the fridge with the box holding the remaining twenty-three beers. "Mind if I put these in the fridge to keep 'em cold?" His eyes averted away from her momentarily as Roman and Brooklyn entered, and while he looked towards them with a friendly smile, Kacey's eyes seemed more focused on the food in Roman's hands. "Yessssss," she said, nodding approvingly at the pizza boxes and containers of wings. "Chanel, you deadass came in clutch tonight. You know I can do wings right now."

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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Holly eventually went to put her shoes on, per Makayla's request, because she was excited to get across the hall to socialize with everyone. When she got to her bedroom, however, she decided that she no longer wanted to wear the plain blue sweater that she was wearing. Like Thanksgiving, this party was a "special occasion", and it called for an outfit change. She left her jeans on, but switched her top for her favorite sweater: a pink one that had a dog on it, that she had gotten from Forever 21 a year or so ago. After being washed so many times, it was incredibly thin now, and definitely wasn't any more of a sweater, warmth wise, than it was an over sized long sleeve shirt, but Holly loved it nonetheless. After changing into that, she pulled on her sneakers, which were knockoff versions of Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars, and her outfit seemed complete. She bounded back down the hallway and into the kitchen where Makayla stood, but just as she was ready to announce that she was ready to go, Makayla brought her hand up to her face sharply, a signal for Holly to keep quiet. It made sense, once Holly noticed the phone pressed to her ear, and though she was curious about who Makayla was talking to, and why she was choosing to do that now, when Holly was ready to go, she paid it little mind once she decided that she wanted a glass of lemonade before they left. By the time she had finished helping herself to that, and leaving the glass in the sink that had been emptied by Makayla just minutes ago, her sister had finished her phone call, taken the box of cookies, and was heading towards the door. "Wait, wait! I want to hold them!" she insisted, hurrying to catch up with Makayla, and pulling the door shut behind them as they entered the fifth floor hallway.

She took the box from Makayla's hands once they were outside, and for the moment, forgot about the phone call and her concern with who had been on the other end of the call. "Oh no, we forgot to make Colton a card!" she remembered, as she also mentally noted that it would have been more festive had they wrapped the box of cookies in wrapping paper. "Do you think he'll be upset?" She was genuinely concerned for those three seconds, but in typical Holly fashion, didn't linger on it for any longer than it took for her to speak those words, because once she grabbed 5B's door knob with her free hand and found it to be unlocked, she pushed it open and entered without knocking. Since it had been her home only days ago, maybe it was excusable, but regardless of that, Holly probably wouldn't have thought anything of just entering someone else's space without knocking. Her track record of doing that, at least, suggested that she didn't feel like there was anything wrong with it.

Roman and Brooklyn must have gotten there only a minute or so before she and Makayla, but the sight of both of them excited Holly, who quickly separated from Makayla's side and headed towards the crowded area of the apartment. In addition to Brooklyn and Roman, stood Chanel, Colton and Kacey, but for now, Holly could only focus on Colton. "Happy birthday Colton!" she beamed as she nearly shoved the box of cookies at him, despite seeing that his hands were full with the case of beer he was holding. "Me and Makayla brought cookies for you, and we were going to make you a card and get you a birthday gift, but Makayla said that she didn't know you, so it was okay if we only brought you cookies. If it's not okay, Cara has a pillow that we'll give you tomorrow, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she followed that up with, "How old are you?"

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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"You can just surprise me, Kacey," Chanel said in response to Kacey's question before turning to Colton. "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead," Chanel said, waving her hand dismissively just as Roman and Brooke came in. She smiled, and it only widened at Kacey's reaction. The thing about Chanel was quite contradictory, and slightly ironic. Her tendency towards extreme self-importance actually fed into her problems with self-doubt, and they were really only resolved through the validation and/or social approval of others, which she always acted too good for. Her carefree personality was, like much of the rest of her personality, not totally sincere. She was as carefree as her ego was blown up, which spoke to why she noticeably relaxed when Kacey seemed excited over the food. Chanel didn't like to admit it, but she did seek approval, and it bothered her. Perhaps it was something she was only now realizing because it had always been a part of her social group back home, but it was an unspoken part of the social structure. A dependency that no one ever spoke of because they were free to ignore its existence so long as they could openly benefit from it. But now, on her own and where the social pressure was different, she seemed to crave approval more, and more ostentatiously, and about even more trivial things. While this much confused her and she saw as a sort of weakness, in reality it spoke to the growth she'd accumulated since leaving Pennsylvania. She was now recognizing her vulnerability, even if she didn't necessarily know to call it that yet.

Just as Chanel was going to retrieve her things from her room, the door opened and Makayla and Holly came through, the latter faster than the former. She made a beeline for Colton, and Chanel had missed some of what Holly had said before replaying it back in her head. Chanel had initially been worried that the party, despite its bordering on juvenile decorations, would be a bit too adult for Holly. It wasn't like she had planned on everyone to get shitfaced, but she was also probably looking too into things. Makayla didn't care at the Thanksgiving dinner last week, so she probably wouldn't care now, or at least she hoped not. Chanel was keen on staying with Colton and Holly because she also didn't know how old he was turning. She figured twenty-something, but she didn't want to text Kacey all throughout the day asking such questions because she wanted there to be an element of surprise to the function, even though only so much could happen. She came close to buying a pack of candles, but for some reason saw buying a pack just to use one as more of a waste than the money spent on the entire event. But such was Chanel's logic. Instead of staying behind, though, she caught sight of Makayla and waved excitedly."I'll catch you two later." As she passed where Roman and Brooke stood, she waved to them too. "Thanks, Roman. And thanks for coming, Brooklyn," she said. She was surprised that Brooke was here, and even more surprised that her and Roman were even friends. They didn't seem to be likely company, but she supposed she couldn't really criticize since the people she was friends with, the people who were as much like her as possible, actually weren't very good friends. "Hey, girl," she said as she got to Makayla. "I was just about to text you. Thanks so much for bringing cookies. That was super kind of you. I was kinda, like, starting to freak out because I feel like I should have some half-naked girls popping out of a birthday cake or something, but the cookies were a really great idea. Everyone likes food as a present, especially cookies. Sorry, I'm talking a lot. Again. Just kinda nervous. Do you want anything to drink?" She motioned her thumb in Kacey's direction "Kacey's making them. Oh, also. Is the alcohol okay? I don't know how you feel with Holly being around it and stuff. I should've told you."

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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While Kacey was working on finding just the right balance between the vodka and orange juice she was pouring into a cup for herself, Colton was heading towards the fridge after Chanel's expected confirmation that it was fine for him to put the beer in there. He almost made it there before in came more people, and as he took a few seconds to turn around to see that it was Makayla and Holly, he quickly lost his opportunity to make it to the fridge. Just as quickly as Holly was in the doorway, she was then right in front of him, thrusting a box of cookies into his arms. He shuffled the case of beer into one hand as he used the other to accept the box. He only held it for a moment though, before taking a few steps backwards to place it on the counter behind him. "Wow, that was nice of you guys," he said, his facial expression portraying the surprise he felt upon receiving the present, but also the unexpected reminder of how vibrant and direct Holly was. The latter part made him chuckle a bit, as he glanced in Makayla's direction upon Holly selling her out for claiming that she didn't know Colton, and in turn, wasn't going to get him a gift. He wasn't offended in the slightest because when it came down to it, they definitely didn't know each other, and he wasn't expecting them to show up, nonetheless bring something. He hadn't had an actual birthday party in years, so receiving gifts was also kind of lost with that tradition as well, and though he expected the cookies to be more of a gift to Chanel, for hosting, for them all to eat tonight, he appreciated the sentiment behind it, especially since, as Holly put it so bluntly, they were close to strangers. "Cookies were really the only thing that I wanted for my birthday, so don't sweat it," he continued with a smile, referencing her offering to bring him a pillow if the cookies weren't satisfactory. "And I'll be twenty-five tomorrow. Old, huh?" he said, answering her final question, while walking backwards towards the fridge.

Holly was a sweet kid, and he actually did appreciate her showing up tonight too. In a city like New York, where you could be cursed out for walking too slowly down the stairs to a subway station, it was refreshing to see someone who was so upbeat. Sure, everyone aside from Kacey who was in the room now were strangers, and yeah, he probably would have been just as happy with his beer and some tacos, but this was nice, he decided. It was a little bit out of routine for him to be socializing, but that was a nice change. One that he had been wanting to make for a while. He wasn't trying to dismiss Holly, so he positioned himself that he could still see her if she wanted to keep talking, as he knelt down and began to unload the beers into the refrigerator.

By the time that the sisters had entered the apartment, Kacey's drink tasted as good as a screwdriver made with cheap vodka could taste. She was unsure of what kind of alcohol Chanel preferred, and she glanced in her direction, as she spoke with Makayla, as if looking at her would somehow give her a better idea of her tastes. As she turned back to the drink selections in front of her, she decided to just make her a screwdriver as well. She added a little bit less alcohol to Chanel's, in hopes that that would make it taste better, and decided that if her roommate didn't like it, it wouldn't be a big deal, because she would just drink it for her. "One screwdriver, made with lots of love, and almost as much vodka," she said lightly, handing the cup that wasn't hers to Chanel, once she made it over to her and Makayla. "And what can I make you, girl? I promise I won't roofie you like this one must have done to you on Thanksgiving," she said teasingly, lightly elbowing Chanel as she said it. She was being more friendly than normally, maybe, but it also wasn't abnormal for her. Kacey could be a complete bitch sometimes, and often came off as cold or having an attitude, but she liked to think that she reciprocated the vibes of the situation that she was in. Once she warmed up to people, felt comfortable, or had a reason to actually be happy, she was easy to get along with. Chanel was the kind of roommate who happened to be easy to feel at ease around and Kacey had alcohol in hand (which she hoped would soon help her forget how much had cost her), so she had more than one reason to be more perky than usual tonight.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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Makayla didn't even try to stop Holly from bounding towards Colton the second they walked into the door. She followed her with her eyes, and cringed at the part where Holly recalled Makayla saying that she didn't know Colton, but his relaxed reaction put her, at least slightly, at ease. She would have continued further into the kitchen to clarify what she had meant to Colton, and probably silently mouth a "sorry about her" too, but Chanel soon came over to greet her. She spoke quickly, and said a lot at once, which wasn't exactly abnormal for Chanel, who always seemed to have a lot on her mind. Spending so much time with Holly made that nothing new for Makayla, though, so it was generally pretty easy for her to follow whatever anyone was talking about. She laughed at Chanel's reference to the naked girls popping out of a cake, but shook her head slightly, as to dismiss the cookies being anything more than a harmless gesture. "Yeah, no problem. Holly wasn't going to let me get away with not bringing him a 'gift', so I thought those would work, and then I remembered that you had been baking cookies earlier, so yeah, I didn't think that out so well." She didn't know that Chanel hadn't planned on serving those cookies from earlier, so her concern was futile, but even still, Makayla was over really caring about it.

Chanel asking if she wanted anything to drink, and then apologizing for not letting her know that there would be alcohol at the party caused Makayla to shake her head again, in an attempt to dismiss Chanel's concern. "Oh, no. Don't worry about it. She just knows that she's not allowed to touch it," she insisted. She considered making a quip about how, as Chanel now knew, Makayla was frequently pushed to the bottle, so there was no way that Holly could be oblivious to it, but it seemed "too soon", and beyond that, Kacey had approached them. She seemed to be in an upbeat mood which was nice, and made Makayla want to feel more excited for the night as well. She wasn't planning on anything crazy happening, especially since Holly usually fell asleep by nine or ten anyway, so she didn't plan on staying long, but it was nice to see that the atmosphere in her old apartment seemed positive. Kacey's comment made Makayla's stomach churn, even though she knew she was being dramatic. Kacey was being playful, and she supposed that the girl never would have brought up Thanksgiving if she actually thought it was serious-- or seriously embarrassing. She was just making light of the situation, and Makayla did hope that it was one of those things that she could just laugh off, so she did that, trying to act as un-bothered as possible. "Oh God, don't even remind me of that," she laughed. "But I'm actually just going to stick with water tonight. I have to be up early tomorrow to take her to school," she continued, her eyes darting past the two girls again, as she checked on Holly's current location, "But thanks anyway." Still, though, there was no denying that Thanksgiving was the only reason for why she wasn't drinking tonight. Free alcohol was always a welcomed treat, and a week ago, Makayla would have jumped at the chance to pour someone else's tequila down her throat, but she wasn't even going to risk making a fool out of herself again. She was well aware that the only reason for why she had gotten like that was because she had mixed the alcohol with the drugs, and it wasn't like she was on Xanax tonight, but still, she wasn't going to go there. Beyond not wanting a repeat of Thanksgiving, Makayla also wasn't nearly as stressed as she usually was when she liked to binge on alcohol. Ever since she had gotten the new stable and safe job, and stopped having to worry about rent, money, which had been her biggest stressor, had become less of a burden. It was still a burden, but just not so greatly, that she felt like alcohol and marijuana were the only things that could alleviate the heavy weights that she felt were constantly pressing down on her chest.

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Colton King
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"Not old," Holly corrected Colton, bouncing slightly in excitement at the night as a whole. She had been glad that he was okay with them just bringing cookies, so that played into her mood, but just being around a bunch of people she liked amped it up for her, as well. It wasn't like she didn't see Brooklyn daily, and even after moving out of Chanel's apartment, she still wasn't being deprived of seeing her. Additionally, she didn't know Colton or Kacey enough to feel the need to see them, but if they hadn't passed briefly in the hallways, it had only been three or four days since they last crossed paths. Roman and Nick were people that Holly would certainly consider friends as well, but since they were less energetic than some of the others, they weren't frequently the first people that she would try to interact with. In fact, it was unlikely that Holly would have even realized that Nick wasn't there for the entirety of the night, had being back in the apartment not reminded her of her earlier conversation about Chanel liking Nick. "In school last year I learned about a whale that can live to be two hundred million years old. Or maybe just two hundred, or something like that, but it's still older than twenty-five, so if you were one of those whales, you would just be like a kid still," she stated, factually, despite being very unsure as to if it was an actual fact or not. She considered continuing to hover over him, maybe asking what else he had gotten as birthday gifts or if he was going to give out goody bags like proper birthday parties offered, but he was packing beers into the fridge and that didn't seem as interesting as anything else going on in the apartment.

That realization became especially true when she heard Roman's noisemaker go off, and that quickly pulled her attention towards him and Brooklyn. Within seconds, she was by their side, a curious expression on her face as she then matched the sound with the noisemaker he had set down on the counter. She would have commented on that first, ask him why he had blown it or told him that it made him sound like a goose, but her thoughts were redirected to the birthday hat that he had placed on Brooklyn's head. "Why are you wearing that?" she inquired, then took note of Brooklyn's attire and continued with, "You look like you like to ride motorcycles when you wear clothes like that!" as she mindlessly rubbed the leather fabric on Brooklyn's arm. "Did you guys know that Colton's turning twenty-nine tomorrow?" Yeah, twenty-nine. That sounded close enough to what Colton said for her to think that was true. "Did you get him a birthday present?"

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers Character Portrait: Colton King
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"No, no, Holly," Makayla said, shaking her head as she placed one hand on Holly's shoulder, as if that would somehow hold her attention better. "We're not eating the cookies right now, okay? The party just started and they're going to want to eat the real food first." Makayla was glad that she had fed Holly earlier, because, even though it was silly, she knew she would have felt guilty if Holly insisted on eating the food that Chanel had ordered, specifically for the people attending the party. It was bad how she overthought things, and she knew that, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking that Chanel would think that she had specifically not fed Holly on her own, so that they could eat on Chanel's dollar. "Just try to be quiet for a little while, and we can see what Colton wants to do with the cookies later on." She knew that "trying to be quiet" wasn't Holly's strong suit, but she didn't want Holly to be overbearing and ruin this party.

Makayla mustered up a smile when Kacey finished her drink, and verbally thanked her, though, when she brought the glass to her mouth, she refused to actually allow any of the liquid to fill her mouth. Instead, it was a pretend sip, and though the drink didn't smell incredibly alcoholic, Makayla really was that paranoid tonight, about drinking in public. And well, Brooklyn's unexpected comment was the only reminder that Makayla needed that she had a very good reason not to drink. She knew that Brooklyn wasn't speaking out of kindness, as if she was trying to protect her from something had happening, and instead, was taunting her. Maybe Brooklyn was trying to scare her, or embarrass her, or prove a point that Brooklyn wasn't her friend and couldn't be trusted with private information. A part of her wanted to tell Brooklyn to fuck off, and that she was a cold and evil person for being so manipulative, not only towards her, but mostly, towards Holly, who stood right by Makayla's side to hear that comment. She wanted to tell Brooklyn that she was pathetic and weak for constantly seeking validation by putting others down, and that showing how cruel she was didn't make her look as strong as she liked to believe. She was nothing more than a bully, and one day, that was going to catch up to her. Her mouth remained closed tightly, though, even as Kacey hissed at her, insinuating that she too, felt that Brooklyn was out of line. The last thing that Makayla wanted to cause tonight, was a scene. For one, she had done enough of that to last a lifetime on Thursday, and secondly, tonight was a celebration for Colton. Makayla didn't know him well enough to feel like she personally owed him any sort of attention, or anything, but it just fell within general manners that that person was supposed to be the spotlight of their own party. In addition to that, too, Chanel was hosting, and Makayla wasn't going to disrupt her party by reverting into that ready-to-go-at-it girl, that her neighborhood had raised her to be, years ago.

All that Makayla knew now, was that she wished she wasn't here right now. A part of her wished that she wasn't on this floor at all, that she had never been a part of this floor. Things hadn't been easier back then, when she and Holly were crammed into a studio apartment, or even before that, when they were overstaying their welcome on the couches of some of Makayla's friends' places, but in the moment it felt like it had been. She had no support system and no true friends to help her out, like Cara did with rent and watching Holly, or even like what Chanel did, by having Makayla's back and sharing information with her, but additionally, she didn't have drama. The only drama she had was the internal conflict of wanting to either run away from Holly and all of her responsibilities, or to kill herself. Neither of those were options that she had ever been able to choose, due to her own conscience, but to some degree, she preferred that internal conflict over this external type of conflict, because at least back then, she could only blame herself. Now, she had to deal with wanting to blame other people, and rightfully so in the case of Cara and Brooklyn, but also knowing that it would only hurt her to do so, since she would likely lose the roof over her head, and the job that had finally given her some sort of security.

While she wanted to grab Holly and bolt out the door right now, Makayla still didn't want to cause a scene. She didn't want everyone to think that she was upset. She didn't want to ruin this party for Colton or for Chanel, and she didn't want to alarm Holly more than she probably already was. Before her sister could even react, and disallowing herself enough time to really react either, Makayla shook her head in response to Kacey's inquiry, as if that, in itself, was some sort of answer. She wanted to dismiss the entire situation, to pretend it hadn't happened, because absolutely no good would come out of making a big deal out of it. She would never get even with Brooklyn, because she had too much on the line, and she didn't want Holly to react to it either. She just wanted to pretend that nothing had been said, and wait an acceptable amount of time before leaving, so that it wouldn't look like Brooklyn's comment was a direction cause of their premature exit. How much longer she could last though, after that, Makayla wasn't sure. "Actually, I think it'll be alright if you have one of the cookies now," Makayla decided quickly, her voice closer to a whisper than an actual speaking tone, as she frantically tried to redirect her own thoughts, and Holly's at the same time. She had done her best to avoid even looking at Brooklyn after the blonde had triapsed away, but she had seen her sitting back down with Roman, in the midst of things, and at least for that, she was grateful. She could barely deal with the one verbal assault, and assuming that Brooklyn was finished now brought some sort of relief. She hoped that Kacey would drop it, but then again, Makayla had already finished that conversation before it had begun. She wasn't trying to be rude or dismissive towards Kacey, but now was a perfect time for her to remember that she and Kacey were different. Kacey could be a twenty-something-year-old who indulged in drama and defending herself. Makayla couldn't. She had more than her own pride on the line, and it just wasn't worth it.

Though Colton was nearby, Makayla didn't bother to ask him if he minded if they opened the cookies early. She moved nearly in autopilot mode, as she left her drink on the counter, pulled Holly towards the box of cookies, and after opening it, handed her one of them. "Tell me how it is," she requested, feeling the need to keep talking, only because she thought that it would keep Holly from reverting back to Brooklyn's comment.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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There had been a time in her short duration at college that always came back to memory, seemingly at the most random of moments, like now. It had only taken her seconds before ultimately turning her room upside looking for the bluetooth speaker, muttering under her breath that she 'swore she had put it here.' In a moment of frustration, she stood against the far wall and thought hard about where she'd last placed it before that led to a daze that she didn't shake herself from until a minute later. As she stood staring at the ground for an answer, she thought back to a cold night in October when she'd begrudgingly decided to stay back and study over going to a party with a few friends. This detail made Chanel frown in the present, realizing she's somehow regressed in terms of her discipline. Mostly as way of distraction than to cure actual hunger, she'd gone down the hall to the vending machine for a snack, and as she left, she had almost run into a girl whose face she recognized from also living in the dorm. The girl was blotchy in the face, red and tear in the eyes, and brows furrowed and sunken. Chanel had quickly shouldered past her, but later seen her again that night in the community kitchen while making cookies--another distraction from studying. The girl, still puffy-eyed and pink, had come to the kitchen with two handfuls of empty wine glass that she placed in the sink. She'd gone only long enough to return with more glasses and disappeared for the rest of the night except for leaving the faintest scent of wine behind.

Chanel had only stood slightly out of the way, only glancing over when she thought the girl wasn't looking. Normally she would have thought how pathetic the situation was to be a great talking point the next day, but she'd actually felt bad for the girl, and later wondered why she didn't say anything. There was some occasions where they would pass each other in the dorm or on campus, and Chanel wasn't sure if the light awkwardness was only in her heard or not. She wasn't sure why she remembered that now, or at all. It could have been because the times that she did see the girl, she was usually with friends, smiling and getting along well as most would. Perhaps Chanel just hoped that someone would behave the opposite she did that night. That they would stop and ask her what was wrong; give her permission to stop smiling for once because there were times when she wanted to not be okay and wanted that itself to be okay. Or it could have been something entirely else. She wasn't sure, but she did know that she needed to find that damn speaker.

"Okay," she said to herself as she turned the bathroom light on. "You're not in the bathroom, but I'm going to check anyway." After entering the bathroom, it only took her a matter of seconds before she saw it sitting on the sink. She sighed and picked it up with a scowl. She sat on the bed a second, initially deciding that she would figure out the music in the comfort and safety of her bedroom, before rethinking that decision and figuring she'd been away from the party long enough. Chanel grabbed her drink, resisting the urge to consume it all in a few big gulps. She knew herself well enough to know how she needed to pace herself. Given her stature and metabolism, coupled with the fact that she hadn't eaten very much all day, she knew there was a fat and easy chance for her to become inebriated without much effort. It was an annoyance, and something that had decreased over time since she wasn't new to alcohol by any means. She just tried telling herself that even if she did have free reigns, she wouldn't be able to take them all because she still had to be sober enough to keep this party going. "Got the music!" She announced mildly as she entered the kitchen, unaware of the rift that'd just been created. A quick across the kitchen convinced her that everything was going all right, and so she moved to the corner of the kitchen and placed the speaker there while she connected it to her phone via Bluetooth and figured out what to play. "Any suggestions?"

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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Makayla was too brisk in her response to Brooklyn's comment for Holly to have much time to process and react to it, initially. She had been too consumed with sipping on her lemonade, and ready to ask why Chanel had purchased yellow lemonade instead of pink lemonade, since Holly felt like Chanel would like the pink kind better, to give it a quick response. By the time that she had taken it in, Makayla was already speaking about cookies and leading her back over to the box, and Holly couldn't say no to that. The sugar cookie that was handed to her was exciting enough for her to let Brooklyn's comment, and Kacey's followup comment, go without comment for two bites, before Holly stopped eating to answer Makayla's question. "It's so good! Colton's going to be so glad we brought them once he tries one!" she praised, before finally returning to the comment that had been severe enough to apparently throw everyone off, aside from Holly, and Chanel, who was only returning now. "Do you think Brooklyn forgot that Christmas is this month?" Holly questioned, her voice quieter than it normally would be, in case, for some reason, Brooklyn wasn't supposed to know that Christmas was coming up. She was tired and just generally not incredibly perceptive, so that was as deeply as she was going to read into the comment. She didn't touch upon the reference to CPS or the alcohol, or how Kacey had called Brooklyn a bitch, and only focused on Brooklyn thinking that she and Makayla weren't going to celebrate any more holidays together in the near future.

"I like Tay--", she stopped abruptly in the middle of her exclamation, and glanced back at Colton, before returning her gaze towards Chanel, who she was already hurrying towards. "I think Colton would like to listen to Taylor Swift music, since it's his birthday and she's a good singer and she looks like Cara!" In terms of "looking like Cara", Holly was speaking about the singer being tall and blonde, and considering that Chanel being tall was enough for her to look like Melman the giraffe, the comparison wasn't too outlandish for Holly. Since she didn't own her own cell phone, computer, or iPod, Holly wasn't too consumed in pop culture. She was more privy to it in terms of television shows and movies, than music, at least, but there were some artists that were basically impossible not to know in this day and age, and Taylor Swift was one of them. Even if Makayla wasn't the one playing her music for Holly to hear, it wasn't abnormal for Holly to hear the music at school from a classmate, or even just playing in a store. Her songs were catchy and upbeat, and that was all that Holly needed to consider herself a fan of the music. "Makayla that it was okay for me to have one of Colton's cookies, Chanel, but Roman and Brooklyn brought him pizza and other food that you and him need to eat first, okay?" she said, once she was closer to Chanel. As she bit into the cookie once more, she turned to the speaker that Chanel had set down, considering touching it and playing with it for as long as she could, before Makayla told her to stop it. However, she was distracted once more, and turned back to Chanel, reaching out and pinching the skin on the girl's arm gently. "And she always says that it's not good to be skin and bones, and I think that's what you are, so I think you should eat three pieces of pizza to make you less skin and less bones and more pizza! And Kacey called Brooklyn a 'Barbie bitch', Chanel, which doesn't sound nice. When me and Kay got to live with you we never said stuff like that."

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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"Excuse you," Brooklyn began with mock offense, after Roman spoke with an attitude. "You're the one I can't bring anywhere. Always smelling like cigarettes and letting infantile ass little boys text me from your phone." Roman's friend's text from earlier had only bothered her for a minute, and she was definitely over any real feelings of annoyance from it by now, but she wouldn't be Brooklyn if she didn't pull things out of the past to use against someone. After another bite of her pizza, she took a napkin that was just a reach away and wiped her mouth with it, careful not to mess up her makeup. Another sip of her tequila, and she looked back at Roman. Just as confused he probably was, and the rest of the room, too, Brooklyn, herself, didn't even completely know why she had said that, or what mood she was in. The past few weeks had been very strange for her; a transitional period, indeed, and since she had worked so hard to shut off her emotions following Nick's affair, it had been hard for her to interpret what she was feeling since then. Right now, she wasn't actually feeling angry or bitter, like she needed to verbally assault Makayla. The girl had done absolutely nothing wrong to her, and just a moment before, Brooklyn had acted more tolerant than normal towards Holly, so if anything, one would have imagined that she would have been nicer to Makayla as well. Throw in the fact that they now worked together, and that Brooklyn's boss had only said good things about Makayla since she was hired, and it would almost make sense to think that she and Makayla were becoming friends. Maybe that was it, though. Brooklyn was a hard shell who rarely allowed anyone in, and this recent event with Nick had proved that she was that way for a good reason. There was no need to let people in, and become close with anyone, because the only person you could trust in the world, was yourself. It wasn't like Makayla was trying to be friends with Brooklyn, and Brooklyn knew that too, but maybe this was her purposely ruining a friendship before it arose. Maybe she felt like she couldn't even trust herself at this point, since she couldn't even interpret her own feelings, so just as a precautionary measure, she would keep Makayla at bay. Doing that, all while maintaining this air of dominance, independence and invincibility, was only icing on the cake.

Brooklyn wasn't far enough from Kacey and Makayla to have not heard Kacey's comment, but she didn't turn her head in either of the girls' direction. She allowed her small smile to rest on her face as she took a few more bites of her pizza, before Chanel returned with a speaker in her hands. Holly was the first to answer Chanel's question about music suggestions, and though Taylor Swift was definitely one of the most mainstream artists of today, Brooklyn doubted that she was Colton's favorite artist. She wasn't as surprised that Holly seemed to like her, given that the pop music was always pretty simple and upbeat and catchy, a genre that would be an easy guess as Holly's favorite. Brooklyn was pretty impartial to the singer, definitely not favoring her to an extent where she would ever pay for her music, but also not finding it to be as annoying as some people did. "Roman seconds the request for Taylor Swift!" Brooklyn chimed in. She still wasn't sure of what her mood actually was, but she decided to force herself into her default mode of being just a little conniving, to have some fun.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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He had almost finished packing the beers into the fridge when one clumsy move led to him knocking one of the cans over, which in turn, knocked over about half of the ones he had just organized, along with some of the other things in the fridge. Had he known that they were Kacey's things, he really would have just left the fridge messy, with no guilt attached, but knowing that there was a possibility that they were Chanel's, meant that he had to feel guilty. If the items were Roman or Nick's, Colton wouldn't have felt guilty, since it wasn't like he had actually broken or damaged anything, and neither of them seemed like sensitive guys, but it still seemed like common courtesy to fix and rearrange them, so he did. By the time that he stood up, he had missed much of what had just went on, and was only tuning in to see Chanel enter the kitchen and ask what music they wanted on. Holly was quick to suggest Taylor Swift, and her enthusiasm, combined with her sudden realization that her request would probably be more effective if she claimed that Colton liked Taylor Swift, made him chuckle. Taylor Swift definitely wasn't someone he listened to regularly, but he also wasn't a die hard fan of any other musician, and even if he was, he wasn't the type who would demand that they be played. "I'm good with whatever you guys want on," he offered, trying to seem as impartial as possible after Brooklyn, and apparently Roman, agreed on the Taylor Swift recommendation. Kacey, on the other hand, was less enthused with the suggestion. She didn't hate the pop singer, and maybe a lot of her reasoning for wanting to veto the choice was based upon her new very strong dislike for Brooklyn, and also how she clearly was less engaged or understanding of Holly than the others. "Lord help me, Chanel, if I've gotta listen to that all night. Put on some good music, por favor." Her restraint was surprising, especially considering how little she had left in her cup, already. Maybe objecting at all showed that she lacked restraint, but in terms of how vocal Kacey could be, this was nothing. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she reeled herself in from telling Chanel that she was going to need to take over the DJ role if she gave in to these "thirteen year old white girl requests".

Colton cracked open the beer he had kept out for himself, and though it was slightly warmer than he normally would have preferred, he also wasn't picky. Plus, he wasn't willing to wait for the ones he had just unloaded to get cold. "Skin and bones?" Colton repeated, opting to engage in the conversation that Chanel and Holly were having, over trying to dispel Kacey's attitude. "If she's what they're calling skin and bones nowadays, then I'm pretty sure every girl on the planet is trying to be 'skin and bones'." Sure, it was definitely an attempt at flirting, but really, Colton wasn't even lying. Chanel was definitely very thin and toned, with the perfect body for a model, but she wasn't what he thought "skin and bones" meant. She had a nice shape to her, a figure that he thought most girls would kill to have, and one that most guys definitely fantasized having in bed next to them. If anyone was "skin and bones", it was Holly and her sister, who just automatically seemed smaller in all aspects of things, considering that they were both petite in stature. He took another swig of his beer, before resting it on the counter momentarily and grinning at Chanel. "After you're force fed your three slices of pizza, we've gotta play a round of beer pong. I need your 'skin and bones' long arms on my team. I've got ping pong balls back at my place if you don't have any." He was ready to delve into the food as well, and though he wasn't sure if Chanel had anything planned for the rest of the night, before she left for work, he thought that a drinking game would be fun. For him, it felt like it would be a good ice breaker, since he was very aware that he wasn't great at flirting, and a game, combined with alcohol, would probably be a good start at loosening him up, he supposed.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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Holly's antics over getting Chanel to play Taylor Swift, by declaring it was something Colton liked, and then further solidifying her reasoning because of her similarity to Cara inevitably brought a smile to Chanel's face. "Good thinking, Holly," she'd said, scrolling through her phone. Just before she asked if there was any song in particular that she, or perhaps Colton, would like to hear, she turned some to hear Kacey's opposition. Chanel grinned weak and cautiously, not sure if she was joking, but it didn't seem like she was. She definitely didn't plan on playing Taylor Swift all night. Even that was a bit much for her. Before she could assure Kacey, and everyone else, that they could pick whatever songs they liked--and then thinking a beat later that she should have gotten her iPad if she was going to let everyone DJ because she didn't want them all in her phone--Holly chimed in, probing her and Colton to eat. Only half paying attention as she looked more closely on Spotify in her search for the girl's music before realizing that she'd taken her things off the app, Chanel only responded half-attentively, "Yeah, of course." After going through her own music choices and not seeing Taylor, which surprised her because she thought she had at least one song of hers, she began to turn to Holly to ask what else she wanted to listen to. Before she could get those words out of her mouth, though, Holly had again beat her to it, and this time, taken a bit off guard by what she'd said, Chanel glanced towards Makayla for some assistance.

Chanel knew better than to take the things Holly said to heart, especially since, between the two of them, Chanel was larger than her in general body mass and height. As Colton would later affirm, she didn't really view herself as being that skinny. When she was a little kid, then yes, she was basically a stick coupled with her metabolism and persistent growing. Holly's comment only made her pause because it reminded her of similar comments she grew up with. Friends and family would constantly ask her, jokingly, if she'd been eating, and 'when she was gonna put some meat on those bones.' Even in her circle, the joke was that Chanel as anorexic, which was problematic on its own, never mind the fact that she'd never had to overcome anything as serious as an eating disorder. There was one time she snapped at a friend of hers for calling Chanel anorexic, and Chanel had retorted saying that maybe if the girl herself was anorexic, then her boyfriend wouldn't have cheated on her with someone smaller. Chanel only felt some guilt over her comment when she learned after graduation that the girl actually did suffer from an eating disorder. In all, comments on her physique were just a nuisance, and when brought up, were typically brushed off as her needing to 'calm down' because 'it wasn't a bad thing.' While it was an annoyance, and something that had settled over the years, it also didn't affect her too negatively because she did like her body. Hearing those things at eight and nine years old wasn't great, but by high school, she convinced herself that people were just jealous, and she still figured that much to be true, because Chanel was arrogant about certain things, but she was also sure of herself in a lot of different regards. Like many people, especially girls, she had gone through, and sometimes still goes through, periods of body insecurity. Overall, though, it wasn't something she struggled with. But Holly didn't mean anything by what she said, didn't need to know all the backstory, and probably wouldn't even understand Chanel if she were to jokingly blame her height and high metabolism. Even if this all wasn't a factor, she was never really sure how to respond to things like that. "Um..." she began, a slight chuckle in her voice. She was on the verge of just saying that it was a good idea because she'd love to more parts pizza, but before she had a chance to even respond to that, Holly had continued, and what she said next seemed to jilt her more than the previous comment.

"She--" Chanel began, her brows furrowing, before looking up at the sound of Colton's voice behind Holly. It took her a second to realize he was addressing what Holly had previously said, but she smiled and laughed some at the end. She once again felt the restraints of her situation. Last week, when she'd first briefly met Colton, she was definitely more brisk than she was being now. Of course, she wasn't entirely sober at the time either, but the point still remained. She tried to take it with some pride, reworked it in her head that she was actually being very mature by throwing a last minute birthday party for a guy she barely knew on a night she had the late shift at her new job. Then, repeating the sentence over in her head, she realized the exact opposite was true. This wasn't mature or adult, and she couldn't even have fun, which now meant, she was finally realizing, that this wasn't the best idea. Maybe just hanging out with Colton would have been preferred to this, but it was too late now. Even if she couldn't get as loose as she wanted to, she figured it would only make matters worse if she declined Colton's invitation and say it was because she had work. Not only would that be lame, but it'd make her look stupid. She could already see everyone looking at her in confusion over her poor life choices. "Yeah, definitely. That sounds like a good idea," she said as she turned back to her phone, looking for a trustworthy playlist. They definitely didn't need turn up music since it was such a small group, but she wasn't trying to take it too seriously, especially when she compared the two options and found hanging out with Colton to more preferable. "But you heard her," Chanel said, referring to Holly. "She said we both had to eat, and I'm willing to share my three slices if you're actually bringing the ping pong balls."

She took a second to glance back over and give him a playful look before turning to find Kacey, whose alleged words still didn't go forgotten in Chanel's mind. Brooklyn didn't seem to be bothered, and Chanel definitely saw the girl as being the type to not let people say whatever they wanted about her, but she knew good and well that Holly didn't fabricate that on her own, and wouldn't have any reason to. If nothing had started over it, then Chanel was going to give it a push, but that didn't mean she didn't want to know what had happened. "Kacey," she said, nodding her over and holding her phone out some. "I trust you have have better music taste than me." The statement wasn't necessarily true. She could just as easily have seen Kacey as the person who surprisingly listened to country music or dubstep. Chanel just wanted to be responsible for one less thing tonight, and handing over music privilege was the easiest thing to do. Lowering her voice just enough to insinuate privacy, she said, "Also, did something happen while I was out? Like 'Barbie bitch'?" She wasn't angry or accusatory, and even smiled some when repeating the apparent insult. But, in a way, this was gossip, and while she had originally decided to just wait until after the party to figure out what was up and to make sure everything was okay, Chanel wanted to have at least a little bit of fun tonight, and talking about spilled tea always did the trick.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Owens Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Kacey Rogers
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Holly didn't give her time to respond to the question involving Brooklyn and Christmas, and to an extent, Makayla was grateful for that. Just as she had shown Kacey, she really didn't want to linger on Brooklyn's comment. She knew that with Brooklyn, it was just an attempt at getting under her skin and intimidating her... or at least that was what she thought it was. Really, it was difficult to tell what the blonde's motives were, and Makayla didn't have the time to figure it out. All she knew was that Brooklyn was a toxic person, one who was unnecessarily provocative, and spiteful, and maybe even a little messed up in the head too. Though Makayla tried to remind herself of all of this, and that Brooklyn being this way wasn't her fault, she couldn't stop her mind from repeating, over and over, that this was why she needed to stop trying. She needed to do what she used to do: take care of Holly, make a living, eat, and sleep. She didn't need to be socializing and trying to make friends, because while it seemed like an act that would better her own mental state, and probably Holly's too, it clearly didn't. Things, no matter how innocent, always seemed to backfire on Makayla, and by now, it was beyond tiresome. She knew that this wasn't the end of the world. A girl like her had endured far worse things than some dumb bitch using a personal topic against her, but it just represented the bigger problem, of how nothing seemed to just be easy and relaxing for her. There was always a bump in the road, so now, even though she didn't have to worry about Holly pressing the subject for the time being, she had to worry about what was coming out of her sister's mouth.

She didn't even know what to say, to attempt to excuse Holly for being so blunt. At least the bit that she had overheard, right before catching Chanel sending her an SOS look, hadn't been terribly offensive, but that was usually the case with Holly. The things she said were either just things that she had overheard someone else say, or things that she construed in her mind on her own, almost always with good intentions. It was the delivery that she seemed to struggle with, at least in the sense that she had a strong tendency to say things at inappropriate times, in inappropriate context, or just in a way that didn't fit the normal social constraints of the conversation. She didn't have a filter, and she also had never been capable of sensing or understanding social cues. At least over Brooklyn and Kacey, Makayla was glad that it was Chanel who had been on the receiving end of her "skin and bones" comment, and then her attempt at reviving what had happened minutes before, with Kacey's reaction to Brooklyn. Chanel was definitely the one that she felt most comfortable with out of the three, for more reasons than one. "Holly, you can't say stuff like that. It's not polite," Makayla said, approaching as Chanel drifted off to pass on the music responsibilities to Kacey. "Come sit with me on the couch, and let Colton relax," she continued, now looking towards Colton to offer an apologetic smile. "It's his birthday party, remember? We need to let him have fun with his friends."

Really, Makayla was ready to leave, but she still felt like it was too early, and too close to Brooklyn's comment for it to not seem like she was just leaving because she was upset over that, and in turn, making herself seem like a drama queen. She did want to leave because of that, but also because she didn't want to risk Kacey pushing a drink into her hands again, or Holly saying anything else to bother anyone, and because she was tired, and because she now had to either figure out a way to allow Aubree to stay the night, without Cara finding out, or get Cara's permission and risk overdoing their own welcome. The latter option seemed more plausible than the former, only because Holly was in the equation. Makayla was sure that if Holly was removed from the picture, she could bring someone into the apartment with her, and under the condition that they remain quiet and slick, they would go undetected by Cara, who usually did her own thing. Holly just couldn't keep secrets though, and even trying to hold her to remaining mum about Aubree's presence would just make things worse. She wouldn't blame Holly for not being trustworthy with secrets, because that was just how Holly was, and she wasn't going to grow spiteful over it, especially not for a half-sister who had acted the exact opposite way that family was supposed to, for her entire life, basically. Makayla struggled with saying no to Aubree, but she also wasn't willing to vilify her actual family, at Aubree's expense. After a bit of contemplation, and her inner voice reminding her that she only had herself to blame if this all went bad, she texted Cara. She wasn't being exactly truthful in the text, but she didn't think altering the minor details, to make her case sound more understandable, was a crime.

To: Cara
Hey Cara, I know this is a last minute request and is probably pushing it since you're already been so gracious to let Holly and I stay with you. A family member of mine is in the process of moving, and her new apartment isn't going to be ready until tomorrow. She thought she had a place to stay for tonight, but it fell through. Is there any way that you'd be okay with her sleeping in me and Holly's room tonight? You won't even notice she's there, I promise.