Oliver Carver's Story

To: Isaac
bro, you better be up. Momma King will not be happy to hear you’re not joining.

To: Marie
hey you, you comin over??? Rents will be here soon

To: Momma King
Ma, where are you? What time will you get here? You know where you’re going right??

To which his mother replied:

From: Momma King
Yes, Collin. We know where we’re going. We’ll be there shortly. Just leaving JFK now.

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Isaac's room was always dark, it was kind of a thing. He only had a singular bulb in the fixture, and a blackout curtain over the one window in the room. It was perfect for the kind of person who liked to sleep until two in the afternoon, or woke up hungover more often than not. Like he was now. He felt like straight up death. Death that had been run over by a truck. Twice.

He sighed as he finally pried his eyes open, the small sliver of light shining across the floor where the drapes couldn't cover it assaulting his eyes like it had something against him personally. He ought to thumbtack it shut...later, when he had more energy. As for now, his arm just fell loosely off the edge of his bed, his fingers colliding into the bottles littering his floor, the clinging of glass making him wince and bury his face into the soft cotton of his pillow. He could still hear the damn noise bounding around in his head, causing it to throb.

He really fucking hated being sober. There were only a few times a year he did it on purpose, and lately such occasions had started to count as 'Family Time'. Not his family, of course, because there was no fucking way that bridge was ever being crossed, but Collin's. It still felt a little weird, sometimes, to know there were people out there who actually wanted him around. Who cared if he ate a decent meal on Thanksgiving, cared how he was doing. It still made his head spin.

Granted, his head was spinning for a lot of reasons currently. He could hear the others moving, hear the hot water heater as it started up, and he muttered a curse as he tried to burrow even farther under his pillow. Which was completely in vain, because in the next ten minutes Collin was pounding his fucking fists against Isaac's fucking door.

Isaac groaned and sat up, his hand grabbing one of the bottles off the floor as he pouted while he listened to Collin yell at him. He wasn't getting ready. He really needed to. He needed a shower too, because he smelt like sweat, and his sweat always smelt like alcohol. Probably because the only liquid in his body was alcohol. He shrugged a little, lifted the bottle to his mouth, and swallowed what little was left. Straight Vodka. He made a face, shuddered, and dropped it before climbing out of bed. He was a little shaky, but who knew when the last time he ate was...he'd fallen asleep sometime around four am the morning before last...slept all day yesterday...trying to be sober for today. It'd worked, unfortunately.

He found his phone in the pocket of some jeans laying on his floor, and dug it out only to frown at it. From: Hey Jude. Message: bro, you better be up. Momma King will not be happy to hear you’re not joining. He didn't bother replying. Instead he dropped the phone and finally left his room.

It was worse out there. Light everywhere, window blinds open, he hated it with a passion. Collin wasn't far, typing away on his phone. "Hey Jude!" he called, and when his roommate glanced up Isaac shot him a grin and the finger. He was grumpy when he was sober - and up before the clock changed to PM times - but they both knew it was all in good fun. Even an irritated Isaac wasn't a cruel Isaac.

The shower helped. The hot water soothed his sore muscles, the scented soaps helped clear his head a little, and he actually liked being clean. He washed off twice, just because they were having company, and he was a little nervous. He also brushed his teeth twice, once he got out, aiming to get rid of any lingering alcohol, shoving the bristles so far down his tongue most people would gag. Once satisfied he wrapped a towel around his waist and headed back to his room.

He took longer than Collin would probably like to find an outfit, well aware they were on a time crunch, but eventually he pulled out a pair of black trousers and his one button down shirt. He found a blazer somewhere, and had no fucking clue where it came from. After he pulled everything on though, he had a feeling he'd stolen it from Collin's closet, because it was a little long...and didn't quite match his pants. He pushed his sleeves up to his elbows so they wouldn't fall over his hands, and rolled his eyes at his reflection in the mirror. Isaac liked nice clothes (it was the gay in him), he just didn't know how to wear nice clothes (which was the 'raised hella poor' in him).

He spent the next thirty minutes trying to do something with his hair, which just ended up being as messy as it always was, and then pulled open the top drawer of his dresser. Pill bottles got knocked off balance when he did, falling all over each other, and he rolled his eyes as he stuck his hands in and shifted through the mess before finally finding his Adderall. It wasn't his favorite high - he didn't like the focused clarity. But the energy, the confidence, the general happiness...he needed that. Good mood, plus a functioning person? Perfect for family time.

He considered railing them for a moment, but in the end just tossed back the handful his tolerance demanded and swallowed them dry. The high would set in about half an hour, and surely he had that much time to scrape his mood up off the floor and be a person again.

He threw on some cologne before leaving the room, and then went to lean in the doorway of his roommates room, nodding appreciatively at Oliver, who rarely ever looked his age or so well put together, then glanced at Collin. "When are the rents getting in?"

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Isaac always somehow managed to feel awkward in situations concerning anyone's family. He'd never been like Collin, rushing around to make sure everything was perfect, dressing nice, putting on a good performance. It wouldn't have done him any good, even if he had. The few times he'd tried to do something nice for his mother...it'd just ended in disaster. His best bet had been to pretend he didn't exist, not pretend he was doing well. Which they were - doing well. As well as one could expect a group of twenty year olds with shaky careers in New York to be doing.

So he arched an eyebrow as he watched the man run around, then flopped down into one of their recliners just as Marie appeared in all her glory. She looked good, she always did, but somehow Isaac had a feeling she'd pulled herself together off someone's floor. He smirked good naturally at her and nodded his hello, mildly regretting not railing his Adderall after all. He had a feeling she could probably use a pick-me-up too, but it was too late for him to mix them up something. Then again, he doubted the drink in her hand was just coffee.

Collin went down to get the family and the other three stayed, making general small talk, nothing important. Isaac teased Marie a little, wondering if he had the right idea about where she was all night, but he didn't pry or anything. Never did. It wasn't long after that when Collin returned. Surprisingly alone. Isaac arched an eyebrow, even leaned halfway out of his seat to see around his friend, but no...he was closing the door.

Explanations came and Isaac sighed. He'd lived with Collin long enough to know his friend was probably a little crestfallen. All that energy gone to waste over a misunderstanding. On Thanksgiving. Any other day, it would have sucked, but been manageable. Not today.

"I got him," he answered Ollie with a sigh as he pushed himself up. "If I fail, we'll jut throw Marie in there for a little while. I'm sure she can put a smile back on his face." He shot her a wink, his mood already improving, before he knocked once on Collin's door and let himself in.

The guy was obviously upset, sitting on his bed, but Isaac didn't let it stop him, just flopped down next to him and nudged his shoulder with his own. "Hey man, I know it sucks, but it's not the end of the world. We can make some last minute plans. You've still got us. And that smokin' hot blonde out there." Isaac winced a little, he had never been very good at sounding convincing when he talked about girls that way, even if he did think Marie was attractive he just...couldn't. What the hell was he thinking? Coming in here to talk about family problems. He was so far out of his comfort zone it wasn't even funny.

He sighed a little at the awkwardness, then wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "We could always drop acid and go watch the parade." It'd actually been his plan before Collin had roped him into spending Thanksgiving in a more traditional manner, but he was mostly joking at this point. Not that he'd say no if Collin said he was game, but still. "Hallucinogens and big blown up animals, am I right? Just what the Indians and Pilgrims would have wanted."

Marie had got to the apartment and sat down, but Collin still seemed to be frantic. She didn't know a lot about him and his past, so she wasn't entirely sure what his parents were like to begin with. They could be neat freaks or simply prim and proper jack asses, Marie didn't know, but she still had said she'd meet them regardless. Studying what Oliver and Isaac were wearing she knew she was incredibly under dressed, but she didn't have time to run across the hall and change now, besides almost anything she owned was too revealing, she saw no shame in showing off what you had.

Seeing the smirk that Isaac gave her she sent one back his way. He likely knew where she had just came from. Well, not exact location or whom she was with, but what kind of night she had. Eventually Collin had gone downstairs to retrieve his parents. Marie had conversed with his two roommates, which she had been used to by now. They just had small talk and Isaac had teased her a little, but Marie had given it right back, hinting here and there at her night.

When Collin came upstairs, he didn't have company with him. For some reason Marie wasn't surprised. Parents were probably the worst, only good they ever did was giving you the crap life you had to live. Marie didn't ask to be born and have to pay bills or anything. Either way, she knew what kind of scum parents were. Her own mother had verbally abused her and told her a bunch of shit that Marie didn't need in her life. Even the proper parents couldn't be bothered to be there for their own child. Nothing was surprising about it.

Collin however, seemed upset about it. He went to his room and that left the three sitting there. Marie wasn't that awkward about it, but she didn't know what to do. Oliver had suggested someone going to go in and check on him, but Isaac had offered. That gave her a bit of a sigh of relief. Marie may have been sleeping with the guy, but they weren't what you would call an actual couple. She didn't know everything he disliked and liked outside of sex, she didn't know his past.

That left Marie and Oliver alone, which wasn't that bad, the two were friends. Marie actually knew more about Oliver than she did Collin. Taking another sip of her coffee she was silent for a few minutes before she spoke.

"We could always go out and do something together that he would like. Do you know of an activity he enjoys doing with friends?" Marie asked curiously. She could indeed do what Isaac was likely suggesting at, but Isaac still had some attempts to be made.

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One of Isaac's favorite things about Collin was that it never seemed to really take much to cheer him up. He was generally a happy person, so this shit with his family was only a bump in the road, the rest of the day could easily be saved. He snorted at his friend's response to his joke, and then quickly dissolved into laughter. The Adderall was kicking in, and he felt great suddenly, and everything was funny. They laughed for probably a minute too long, shoved each other playfully, and then Collin was standing and Isaac grinned as he hopped up as well. "There's the Collin King we all know and love," he muttered with another playful shove towards the door.

The moment the two of them rejoined their friends, Collin was on full blast and Oliver was out of his seat in a second - like the yelling was meant to chastise him instead of excite him. Isaac arched a slightly amused eyebrow, because he couldn't imagine how difficult the last couple of minutes had been for the pair he'd left - Oliver was just a little socially awkward and Marie always seemed a bit lost on how people worked if she wasn't climbing into a bed with them. It was kind of funny, really.

"You two survive in here?" he asked as he jerked his stupid jacket off. It really was too big, and he no longer had a reason to be so dressed up. He also didn't care enough to go change, though, so the offended clothing just ended up on the couch. He rolled his sleeves back up, to look some what decent, and pulled his shirt out of his pants because really tucked-in clothing was only for when mother's visited.

Before he could make much more of a decision about his wardrobe choices, Collin was pouring shots, and Isaac found himself grinning again as he shoved passed Oliver to make it to the kitchen first, swiping a shot glass off the counter. "Hey, isn't that mine?" he asked, nodding towards the bottle of Grey Goose. He doubted it, actually, since most of his alcohol was on the floor in his room somewhere; and even if it was he would share, he was just in a playful mood.

Once the others were there with a glass in their hands, Isaac raised his high. "To making memories worth being thankful for," he toasted with a wink towards Collin, and then threw back his shot. He was already pouring another even as he dug his phone out of his pocket. It'd gone off when he'd been talking to Collin, though he couldn't imagine who was texting him. Surprisingly, it was from Nick: probably smoking in 5B in a few. buds on the house today since i'm in the holiday spirit lol. come thru if ur craving. Isaac grinned and threw back his second drink before he texted back:



Isaac wasn't actually sure who lived in 5B, except he had gathered from his mornings with Marie that it was probably all girls. She lived there, and he figured Chanel did too because sometimes they chatted up until they parted for their respective doors. But other than that, he didn't really know. He did know, however, that he was not turning down free weed. Isaac had money, sure, but only an idiot would pass that up.

"Hey, I may have just found us something to do," Isaac mentioned, shoving his phone back in his pocket and pouring another shot. He swallowed it down before he started walking backwards out of the apartment, lifting two fingers towards his mouth in the universal 'smoking' sign. "If you're feelin' it. I'm gunna go check things out." With that he twisted around, and let himself out.

When the two were left alone, only little conversation had started between them. To be fair Marie would probably be more talkative if she were more awake. She still needed that good smack in the face to wake up, or just some time and to finish the coffee. Taking another sip she could feel it seep into her body and run in her veins. It gave her a bit of a jolt and slowly helped her wake up. She was almost lost in her train of thought and didn't hear what Oliver had said.

"I have never really done the whole holiday thing, to be frank." Marie said shrugging her shoulders. She wasn't going to get very into it with him at this moment, but her family wasn't something that gave you the warm feelings inside. She didn't have the excitement and joy about Christmas. Every birthday she would be greeted by a tipsy crack whore mother that would do nothing but shout profanities at her or tell her what a shit daughter she was and how much of a mistake she was. Of course Marie knew she was adopted, because as you could imagine that came up once she got older in their arguments.

Although Marie knew she had a whole other family out there, she also knew if they wanted to connect with her they would come hunt her down. She wasn't going to go tracking down people who didn't even want her. Either way she held no resentment towards it all. She came to terms with her well being awhile ago, so now she just had herself a future to build up.

What seemed like awhile, was only a minute at most. Soon Collin came out in his usual moods all fine. Not long before followed Isaac. She watched Collin as he pulled out the vodka, it'd be a dumb move on her to turn it down. Free liquor wasn't something anyone should turn down, especially when you were at the wealth status that Marie was at. Despite working two jobs, it was barely enough to pay bills and buy food. If only she had an actual acting career. Perhaps she could work her way up in the pornography industry, some of them got paid some actual good cash, something Marie only wished she could have.

Getting up she met the boys where the shots were. Grabbing one she lifted her shot up to toast with them to making memories to be thankful for. A smirk placed on her lips as the situation unfolded. She took the shot glass and put it to her lips where she tilted her head back and drank the shot. It had a bite to it, but she was used to most liquor at this point.

It wasn't long before Isaac had mentioned they found something for them to do. He took another shot and began backing up to the door and he gave the signal. If it was younger Marie she wouldn't have passed up the chance, but by this point, she had her fair share of drugs in the past. They weren't something that she had really got super hooked on. Marie herself just preferred the contents in a bottle and the intoxication from it was enough for her. Walking to the door, she watched Isaac head to her apartment of 5B. Figures that was where they were headed.

"I'm not going to light it up with them, but I would prefer to get some better clothes that were preferably my own." She said with a slight chuckle remembering her morning prior to this. "Feel free to follow at your own will, but Holly is probably home. She's harmless though, sweet kid." Marie said with a smile and with that she also left the apartment of 5A.

Walking into her apartment she took her shoes off and walked in going through the kitchen with the smell of cupcakes wafting up into her nostrils. They smelled delicious. "Good morning Holly." Marie said smiling at the girl before entering her room to get her clothes for the day and have a shower.

After doing what she wanted to do, she got dressed in the outfit she picked out. A pair of burgundy leggings and a nice white blouse. She figured she'd dress with more class today, seemed to be the theme of everyone else. She threw on a black beanie however and walked out to sit on the couch next to Holly.

"So what are we watching Holls?" She asked the girl grinning at her.

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Marie had been sitting comfortably on the couch. Upon asking what the girl was watching she had responded that she had been watching Phineas and Ferb. A show that Marie wasn't hugely familiar with, but she knew it just based on Holly in general. Marie couldn't help the soft spot that she felt for the girl. She was just so naive and she had a rough life from what Marie could remember of the bits and pieces she had heard. Either way Holly began talking about the show and about Ferb in particular. Marie listened intently and was engaged in the conversation she was having with Holly.

At the mention of Ferb speaking like Roman, Marie couldn't help but laugh a little bit. "You know, he kinda does." Marie said in agreement with an amused smile on her face. Holly really was the safe place for Marie. Marie didn't have to worry about building herself up to be someone grand. She could just be less guarded around the girl and it was nice to have that in her life. Something she hasn't really had for a long time. Holly had gone off on a rant, but Marie had followed.

Shaking her head she responded to Holly, "I don't think he is adopted. Doesn't he sound a bit like the dad?" Marie asked hoping she had remembered correctly. The dad wasn't in every episode, but he showed up from time to time. Soon Collin had walked in and made a remark on the cupcakes being awesome. Holly had got concerned that Collin would eat them, and informed Marie that they were for Cara's later. Nodding Marie was about to tell Collin not to touch them, when he came and sat down on the couch with them. His legs had been resting on hers, and Holly had asked if she was going to Cara's or rather had been invited.

"Don't you worry Holly, I'll be there, and then I can try one of your delicious cupcakes." She said with a grin. She felt her phone vibrate in her hand, but just as she was about to look at it, she heard someone coming. She turned her head and had seen it was Makayla. "Hey Makayla." She responded. Marie knew what people looked like high, and she could see the red in her eyes. However Marie also knew that was where Isaac had gone to, just Marie wasn't that into marijuana at this point in her life. When she was a teenager, yea, but now, no.

Listening to the girl tell her sister that the TV should be left to her and Collin, Marie checked her phone and grinned. Once Makayla left, she turned to Holly, "Hey, it's okay. I like to watch a good cartoon from time to time. Have you ever seen Curious George? It's pretty great to. Also feel free to watch TV, I don't mind. I'm hardly home to watch it anyways." Marie said reassuring the girl it was alright if she wanted to continue watching. Marie was about to reply to Collin when Oliver had come in as well.

"Oh, hey Oli!" She said and then looked to Holly. "Holly, this is Collin, and this is Oliver. Guys this is Holly." She said pointing to the right person in correspondence with their name. While she gave them time to say hi to each other she looked back down to her phone and responded back to Collin.

To Collin:
"Someone's in the giving spirit ;)"