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Chanel Nasiri

0 · 4,147 views · located in New York City

a character in “City Living”, as played by predictmeifyoucan

Description

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Birth Name:
Chanel Nasiri

Age:
22

Date Of Birth
June 11

Sexuality:
Heterosexual

Occupation:
Freelancer
Barista
Sugar baby

Origin:
Oahu, Hawaii [0-1]
Austin, Texas [1-2]
Newark, New Jersey [2-4]
Raleigh, North Carolina [4-5]
Orlando, Florida [5-7]
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [7-20]
New York City, New York [20-present]




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Personality:
| Kind | Manipulative | Selfish | Carefree | Indulgent | Curious | Materialistic |
Chanel does her best to be as nice to people as she can. The majority of the time, she's wearing a smile or is laughing. She tries to see the good in people and situations and is all around just trying to live life with as few restrictions as possible. This makes her come off as immature to some as she's already 22 and doesn't have a clear projection for the future, but to others she is seen as very free spirited and relaxed. She's always ready to do something fun, almost too much to the point that it actually inhibits are ability to get things done. She would much rather go to a concert or walk through Soho instead of doing actual work. To quench her extrovertism and need to do right by the world, she occupies a good chunk of her free time with social activism. In this way she can still interact with people while actually being productive. Her carefree nature can be charming, but also reckless. She likes to pretend the rules don't apply to her since growing up she was used to always getting things to go her way. She doesn't like being told that she can't do something, and if that something is even as trivial as her buying something she doesn't need to buy, she'll still ignore what she should do in place of whatever satisfies her in that given moment.

While she is an agreeable person, this isn't how she is by nature. Even as a child she has always been very manipulative and calculating, determined to get what she wanted. Because she also incredibly charismatic, her ways were mostly ignored, or completely masked for what they really were. She loves gossip and drama and always being in the know whether that involves having knowledge she shouldn't or following the latest trends. She feels the need to have the best and be the best because at her core she is very competitive. She's what most would call incredibly fake, and she was honest enough with herself to admit that such was probably true. Her cold nature comes through projecting her own insecurities in the disguise of confidence and aggression. She's always forced her ideas and personality onto people in a way that made it hard to resist, partially because she was intriguing, but also because she was intimidating. None of this changed until her brother's suicide attempt when she was eighteen. After that she was consumed with guilt because it was the people like her that almost took her brother from her, and even now she accepts some responsibility for his attempt. Her kindness and activism, then, is more so out of a need to make herself feel whole again and distract from the guilt she still feels over her brother's suicide attempt. Deep down she knows that this friendly persona isn't who she truly is and so she tries harder if not to convince others, then to convince herself.

Likes:
| Shopping | Novelty | Oranges | Candles | Organic | Collectibles |
Chanel loves buying things and acquiring new items. She's always up for trying new things and indulging herself. Much of her recklessness comes from little luxuries that add up. Although she is the exact opposite of a Type A personality, she likes to give off that aesthetic so that other people know as well. So she'll waste money on expensive organic juices, a multitude of curly hair products, pricey items from so called 'boho' stores, and expensive gym memberships. Her finances don't allow for it, but she chooses to ignore this and does as she pleases. Of all things, she has a guilty pleasure of buying authentic jewelry and pieces of art with lots of cultural backstory. Her dresser, if not her body, is an array of trinkets and bracelets that she 'just had to have.' She's also very big on music and loves going to concerts, even if that means going out of state to see someone live. Because she gets bored easily, she likes discovering new things. This is where her excessive shopping habit comes in, but also her tendency to scope out new restaurants and places she's never been before.

Dislikes:
| Settling | Work | Her Guilt | Restrictions | Familiarity | Pumpkin anything |
Chanel hates feeling tied down which is the main reason she hasn't found stability in the two years since moving away from home. Although she is trying to be a better person, she's used to being spoiled and thinking that only the rules she likes actually apply to her. Sitting for too long makes her anxious and as though she's not doing enough which in turn opens the door to her closeted guilt. She busies herself not only because she physically cannot sit down but for so long, but because she needs a distraction from her own self.




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Background:
Born to a veteran and a dance instructor, Chanel lived a relatively modest life. Before second grade, her family moved around a lot due to her father working in the military and within that time her younger twin brothers were born. Once her father finally retired, the family settled down in Pittsburgh where they carried an average but fulfilling life. Her childhood was a good one what with memories of the smell of Moroccan cuisine and the familiar, nostalgic sound of Arabic spoken by her father. Things were relatively simple and happy. One of the earliest turbulent moments that ever happened to her was when she was 10 years old. Her mother had gotten into a brutal car accident that reared her unable to to teach dance anymore. Similar to Chanel, her mother was unable to sit still for too long, her mother went to school for two years to get an associates in Nursing and has since stayed with that.

Apart from that, she would say she really enjoyed growing up in Pittsburgh where everything seemed to go according to plan. Her home life was good, as was school which was never problematic for her especially since she never had problems with fitting in. This lack of issue didn't stem from her simply not being concerned with the peer pressure that came with growing up. In fact, the opposite was true. Out of fear of being left out, she was very dominating over everything and formed her own rules and cliques, always being the ring leader of whatever she did. Her teachers dubbed her a leader because of her vivaciousness and willingness to take charge, but to others she was intimidating and even somewhat of a bully. However, due to her charm and discreet manipulative nature, she was able to keep friends and was well-liked among the majority of the peers.

Even though this was true, it could also be said that most liked her only on the surface, and didn't really enjoy her for what she truly represented. Such caused a lot of drama and tension when she entered high school. Chanel always found herself entangled in some form of drama and her cattiness only got worse as her need to be a part of something intensified. While her flaws were a driving force in the way she acted, it was never conspicuous enough in the presence of her persuasiveness and natural charisma for people to totally exile her. People knew that she was, for lack of a better term, fake. She would use people and tear them down and seemed to play games with people, just to prove that she could. Nevertheless, there were still many who would say that they didn't necessarily dislike her, but that there was something about her that made them wary of her true intentions.

By the time high school graduation came around, she was sick of all of her classmates, and they felt the same towards her. She'd lost most of her 'friends,' but didn't seem bothered by it all too much. So while she got through school mostly unscathed and used to being in control of everything, it wasn't until after she got her diploma that she started to experience the exact opposite. Chanel had decided to take a gap year before going to school, just working and enjoying life. Unlike her, one of her brother's had always struggled in school both academically and socially. It had been an issue for so long that Chanel pretty much ignored it, even as it worsened through middle school and into high school for him. She was at a party when she got a call from her mother, frantic and in tears, telling her that her brother was being rushed to the hospital after trying to kill himself.

To think about life before that moment is odd her now. To be able to fathom that her life was so normal before it happened feels almost surreal. After her brother's attempt, everything at home changed. With all of the stress that was now put on the family, her parents began fighting more, her brother declined mentally, and Chanel became consumed with guilt. She didn't understand the exact extent to her brother's bullying, but it was because she chose ignorance over action. Not only that, but she felt responsible because she was one of the types of people who drove her brother to suicide. Even with everything going on at home, she attended university the following year as planned.

At first it was a relief, a good distraction from her problems--from her guilt. She went in with the intent on being a graphic designer, but after just a semester she was convinced that college wasn't for her. She stayed another semester before dropping out and moving back in with her parents. She busied herself with working and tried to mend relations with her family. While things had improved over the past two years, she still couldn't look her brother in the eye without feeling guilty. Eventually, it became too much to handle and she left for New York City. The reason she gave her parents was that she didn't want to be a burden and wanted to go and start her own life, but in reality it was for far more selfish reasons.

While at first the idea of moving to the city was thought to be temporary, she has since stayed and tried to reinvent herself in different ways. She became more involved in social issues and now will sometimes write for different papers or websites if she is able to find a gig. Outside of that, she hasn't really settled down like she told her parents she would. Instead she had been doing many small jobs and typically only long enough to get her to the next paycheck before she gets bored and quits. As her interests continue to vary in this phase of reinvention, she completely thrusts all of her energy into a hobby and will try to find a job that correlates. Since she quickly bores, though, she never really sticks with anything and so has only really gotten her feet wet in the past two years since being in New York. To make her lack of security seem like less of what it is, she calls herself a freelancer, which isn't necessarily false. While the types of jobs she'll freelance varies, she has consistently stuck with social awareness writing and jobs that involve graphic design of some point, mostly for small companies. As of now, she's still all over the place but relies heavily on freelancing as a means of making money. This is harder, though, because she does not have a college degree and most clients are looking for someone with more qualifications. When finances become too tight, like now, she will get a more stable job, and so currently she works part time as a barista at a small coffee shop, but she's already considering quitting.




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ImageHeight:
5'10

Weight:
123 lbs

Face Claim:
Imaan Hammam

Hex code:
#c7256e

So begins...

Chanel Nasiri's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Collin Forrester Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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ImageMonday, November 28th, 2016

Time: 3:00 PM
Weather: Sunny, 50°/ 38°


Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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C A R A - F O R R E S T E R

Location: Apartment 5E
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #1BB3F5
Monday was the one day a week that Cara actually had any responsibilities. She was a part time student at New York University, taking nine credits this semester. One of the courses, "Creative Writing: Places" was a fully online course, while the other two, "Principles of Macroeconomics" and "Latin American Cultures" required her to be on campus from eight in the morning until around one-thirty. Since it was only one day a week, Cara didn't really mind. In fact, as sad as it was to say, she actually liked Mondays for that reason, because they made her feel productive, like she was out in the world doing things and advancing herself. Whether she would ever actually finish her degree or not was yet to be decided, as she was still content with just taking the bare minimum, elective courses that she needed. She had only started college last semester, so she wasn't too far in, and though she knew that her father was right- that she might as well just transfer to a community college where the courses would be easier, and she would have an associate's degree to show for her work sooner than later, she had too much pride.

Cara came from a culture where you were weird if you weren't paying sixty-grand for some brand name school that your parents could boast about to their friends over dinner parties, and even if her dad was nearly begging her to just be smart and do that at this point, she was still too caught up in the stigmas attached with community college. In fact, she was convinced that she would be better off dropping out of college all together than doing that, but she knew that she didn't want to do that either. Though Cara didn't know if she would ever be the "working type", she knew that she didn't want to be forced into the trophy wife route. If that was the path she ended up taking, then so be it, but she wanted an education and potential career path of her own in case that didn't work out for it. Luckily, unlike so many people her age, Cara was able to spend all of this time figuring this out, and gliding through life until she figured it out. She didn't have to worry about financial aid, or loans, or tuition money if she failed a class and had to retake it. All she had to figure out was what she wanted to do, and how to do it. It seemed stressful to her, of course, but it wasn't when her life was compared to her peers.

After school, she stopped at Whole Foods to restock her fridge, since she had managed to pass off all of her Thanksgiving leftovers to neighbors and friends, and as she put it, she just "needed a fresh start". By the time that was done, and all of the food was put away, it was already three o'clock, and Cara found herself wanting to be lazy. She ended up in bed, scrolling aimlessly through social media on her phone and laptop simultaneously, and when she came across something that Chanel had posted, she felt inclined to text the girl who had been MIA all weekend.

To: Chanel
I feel like you've been gone for decades, are you home yet?! If so, dinner tonight!

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Hex Code: #c7256e
In reality, she wasn't supposed to come back until Wednesday. Cara's text was a not so gentle reminder of that. Somehow, some way, she'd booked the wrong date for her train ticket, and now she was back in her apartment two days earlier than expected. Under predictable circumstances, the mishap would have been a godsend. Chanel was nervous about going home, as she always was nowdays, but after her mother's insistent prodding on top of her father's passive nudges, she ended with very little choice. What drove her to buy her last minute ticket, though, was the fact that at the time, she was completely sick of her life. It'd been a terrible day with yet another creepy man, and she'd gotten to the point now where she could power through the lot of it, but that night was something special, and a train ticket felt like a down deposit for her to check out far away. Sure, she regretted it soon after, but was stuck because she'd notified her parents moments after buying the ticket that she was coming home for the holidays. Circumstances preceded her, though, as the holidays were notable spectacular. Maybe it just went to show how desperate she was for actual intimate interactions, the ones far different from the ones that kept her bills paid and her materialistic thirsts quenched. It was scary how quickly she fell into everything, even with her brother, with whom there still seemed to be some tension, some gap between them. Perhaps it was always there and she didn't noticed it until after...it.

The whiplash into reality with the sudden realization that she had to return home sooner than expected was enough to throw her off balance. Coupled with how comfortable she got so quickly, it stood out to Chanel that perhaps she didn't have as much figured out as she thought. That she wasn't as independent as she was trying to trick herself into believing. Because if she was, she wouldn't have cried when her mother hugged her at the train station, which, sure, wasn't such an abnormal reaction, and her parents definitely didn't see it as such. To them, it was both a surprise and endearing. But Chanel knew her tears then weren't just from nostalgia and homesickness. No, it was all the rest as well. It was the remnants of New York that she needed to purge, and it came in the form of tears and lots of hugs. So her Thanksgiving itself was likely no more fantastic than any other Thanksgiving. It was as normal as it could be, by her standards, but every inch of home felt like a mile; it meant much more. But now, it didn't really feel like anything. Only because it either had to feel like something and she would dwell in it, or the opposite. It felt like nothing, and so she could move on, but the latter was proving quite hard, even as she tried distracting herself with things to buy on Amazon.

To top it off, things with her (ex?)-boyfriend were continuing to go south. However, considering that the guy was enough of a tool that he could be sold at a hardware store, it seemed like something to be grateful for. But things were hardly ever that simple, especially where emotions were involved. And so no, and what seemed to always be the theme of her life, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it, she felt both isolated and exposed. She thumbed the screen of her phone aimlessly, looking down the length of her bed at nothing while she thought emptily. She finally turned back to the message, began typing and got as far as "i feel v shitty rn and i just want to c", before deleting everything in favor of:

To: Cara
definitely home and definitely bored!!! i wanna do more than just dinner tho...

Chanel was going to leave it there before pondering for another minute. Sometimes she had to think and plan how to be herself, how to be as on-brand as possible, because everything in this city, everything she was and owned, was fabricated to the smallest detail. At times she could get caught up in the role for long enough to forget that this was all to trick others so that maybe she would trick herself as well, but then there was moments like this where she was feeling very raw and off-brand, and had to become herself again. This version of herself. What she really wanted was to escape again, but something outside of mindless shopping. A good cry and some chocolate and wine would have sufficed, but that wasn't fun and spontaneous. It wasn't big and loud like she was. But then, she figured it out.

To: Cara

tbh i wanna be kindaaaa irresponsible. like a couple too many cocktails kinda irresponsible ;))) you know what cocktails do to me lol. let's make bad decisions together!!!!!! are you home???

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Chanel smiled as she read Cara's response, starting to feel a bit better already. By the end, though, she wore a contemplative frown, as she hadn't even thought so far as to where she might want to go. She tossed her phone to side of the bed, getting up and striding over to her overflowing closet. She shuffled through them lazily, umimpressed. Some of them, she hadn't even worn yet but just bought as an impulse purchase--a distraction. Chanel would likely do what she normally did: sell what she could and then donate the rest. That way she had two reasons to go out and buy more of what she didn't need: she had a little extra money, and she'd done her civil duty but looking out for the less fortunate. Of course, the majority of the clothes she owned weren't paid for by her barista money, or the money her parents sent to help with her living with her. Chanel flopped on her stomach, landing next to her phone. She rolled over onto her back, raising the phone above her head as she texted Cara back,
or so she thought with a "omg what dress should I wear???" Seconds later she got a response from her youngest brother saying "omg idc???" "Stupid phone," she grumbled as she went back to her and Cara's chat.

To: Cara
I literally just texted my brother instead of you -.- But idk! Whatever gives me a good excuse to go get mani-pedis beforehand and warrants a new dress! I'm thinking kate middleton kinda classy with a rihanna kind of bad-assy. elegant,
but playful. arrive down up and leave tore up kinda thing.


While Chanel was clearly being silly and extra, like always, joke or not, in reality she should have been saving up this money she was so keen on splurging. She'd taken the semester off, much to the chagrin of her parents. They knew how Chanel was and after taking a gap year, which they also weren't keen on given her history they were all but for the girl taking even more time to finish her degree. She'd taken the time off to save up money and develop a better appreciation for school--at least that's what she told her parents. Being from a military family, there was no BS. Part of the reason she was so manipulative was likely because she had to know how to finesse her parents into giving her what she wanted Of course, by now, her looks and other things probably played a role as well. If it wasn't for her family looking at her, she quite honestly probably wouldn't go back. Not because she didn't enjoy school, because she did, but it was more stress than it was worth. And even though it was shit for her mental health, the sugaring satisfied her impulsive shopping habits and need to feed herself value through consumption. Closing her laptop, she exited her room to go make a light snack, taking her phone with her.

To: Cara
also how was thanksgiving? wait why are we texting when we're literally next door. plus text doesn't capture all of my personality :) i'm coming over and you better not leave me hanging because i'm still in my pjs!

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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C A R A - F O R R E S T E R

Location: Apartment 5E
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #1BB3F5
Cara couldn't help smiling at the response that Chanel texted her, mostly because she could hear her friend's voice in her head as she read it. Chanel was that perfect kind of girl friend, who was vivacious, and always kept you laughing, and had a personality like no other. To Cara, Chanel seemed unique and completely her own self, which either reflected how well Chanel was at maintaining the facade she had construed upon moving to New York, or reflected how Cara just didn't look that deeply into people. She saw what she wanted to see, a lot of the time, and since she was in need of a new, real friend around the time that she met Chanel, she saw her for the characteristics that fit into that mold that she was used to having friends fit into, and left it at that.

To: Chanel
Yes, come over!!!

Though Cara had more to say, Chanel was right that it didn't make much sense in continuing to text about it all when they literally lived right across the hall. Feeling a bit enthused now that she had real plans for the night, she felt compelled to get out of bed. Given that Chanel was in pajamas too, apparently, and just because she wasn't in the mood to really care, she didn't bother changing out of her own, but headed to her closet to peruse the selection of possible outfits for tonight. Like Chanel, the first thing that crossed her mind upon looking into the closet that was entirely too small given the space that Cara was used to having for storing her clothes, was that she needed to go shopping to get something better to wear tonight. Though she didn't speak of it often, only because it meant admitting that she still relied on her father far more than she liked to act, the majority of Cara's belongings were still sitting uptown, in her bedroom at her childhood house. She simply didn't have the space here to store everything, especially her clothes, and given that shopping was one of her nearest and dearest hobbies, she had come to terms with returning home more often than she wanted to, to swap out things from her wardrobe or drop off things that she didn't have room for at her apartment here.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Before reading Cara's text, Chanel sat her phone on the counter. She walked to the fridge to immediate disappointment, realizing she needed to go grocery shopping. Luckily, there was still vanilla yogurt that hadn't expired and granola available. She didn't have any fruit since it would have spoiled by the time she returned home, which meant her snack would be mostly boring. Even after adding agave for some added sweetness, the yogurt was tasteless. It wasn't that it didn't taste good, but it was as though she couldn't mentally concentrate on enjoying the food in front of her. Her mind prodded her to stop ignoring the things she was trying to suppress, and she became distracted trying to erase that poking.

She was done with her yogurt when she realized Cara had texted her back. For a second she considered changing into real clothes, but decided against it. It was still early but it felt like yesterday had bled into today. All the chaos was still fresh in her veins, and even changing into her pajamas didn't trick her body into calming down and relaxing. It was, in part, her way of telling the world that she was officially checked out until the next day. Her plan had been to stay inside and stare at her computer all day, lights off save the dozens of candles in her room. And so she was somewhat proud of herself for getting herself out there, even if it was just down the hall, because only a few hours ago this morning did it feel like even unpacking was too much of a tiring task.

She washed her dish quickly, feeling accomplished with that as well, before heading out. In just a few seconds, she was in front of Cara's door, drumming on it until her knuckles hurt.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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C A R A - F O R R E S T E R

Location: Apartment 5E
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #1BB3F5
It took Cara a few seconds to get to the door, because in the time that it took for Chanel to come over since their last text exchange, she had managed to tear out half of the clothes in her closet in an attempt to find a dress that she was sure was in there. It wasn't, and now the sight of a bunch of clothing garmnets (all that she suddenly wanted to deem as being hideously ugly) scattered on her floor was started to make her feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed. Chanel's arrival brought her a well-needed excuse to leave the suddenly-cluttered and messy room, and she made sure to close the door behind herself once she left, to hide the mess from anyone passing by.

"Hey girlie," Cara beamed upon opening the front door. The first thing that she noticed about Chanel, who was standing in the doorway, was that she apparently was in a pajama mood this afternoon too. Cara felt comfortable enough with Chanel by now where she wouldn't have been embarrassed if she was the only one dressed way down, but their matching attire made her smile nonetheless. "Ugh, so relieved that we're on the same wavelength right now with these outfits. I got home from my classes and was just so over everything," she admitted, stepping aside to allow Chanel to walk into the apartment. "But, okay, before we get into anything Thanksgiving related, let me just say that I'm excited that you wanna go out! Should I be worried, though? I don't know if it's just the girls I know, but normally when a girl who's supposed to be in a relationship sends out a message about wanting to go out and make bad decisions, the boyfriend usually did something wrong. Is everything good between you and... what was his name?" Chanel had definitely mentioned something about her boyfriend on more than one occasion. Cara liked to think that she was a good listener, and normally she was, but unless she knew the person personally or at least met them, names and the specifics often escaped her.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Chanel, ever so dramatically, twirled through the doorway and into the apartment. She was a full face of smiles until the last bit of what Cara said. Her face didn't completely drop, but there was a noticeable change. She rolled her neck out, as if the topic itself actually pained her, and the act of answering Cara's question required preparation. It was in Chanel's nature to be incredibly verbose and boisterous. In her family of five, she was by far the loudest, although her youngest brother was able to match her energy well enough, and her parents had stopped trying to keep up with her since she was a child. There were times when she wished she could tone it down because she did find it quite admirable when people could be so quiet yet have such a presence, like her mother for instance, who was the definition of poise. There were small moments, like now, where her more contained side came out. Instead of going into a long, vibrant, Chanel-like story with glorious gestures and other theatricality, she kept her response quite curt with a, "What boyfriend?" She was cheerfully passive as she danced her way into the living room. "His name is Forgotten and this night needs to be too," she said with her normal pep back to her. "I don't want to remember a single thing. So whatever that costs me in cocktails, I'm down for it. Fuck the light bill!" she exclaimed, thrusting her arms out in the air as she fell backwards over the back of the couch.

Chanel wiggled her legs over the couch, already feeling more energized now that she was socializing. Or maybe it was easier to fall into the mindset that everything was more okay than it actually was when she was around other people. Whichever the reason, in the moment, she didn't care as she righted herself up so she could see Cara appropriately. "How did you suffer an entire week without me?" she said, rolling her eyes dramatically with a goofy-aloof smile on her face. It was obvious that she was joking, but even if she was being serious, she didn't think it would be a hard question to answer. She knew she could be a bit much for people, but it wasn't something she could help, just always being on. Her twirling and dancing and bouncing around wasn't anything out of the ordinary as she was naturally a very kinesthetic person, perhaps even too much. When she was a child, her parents put her in dance classes because she was so mobile, and that ended up being the reason they had to pull her out. She couldn't sit still long enough to listen to the instructor nor did she have the patience or desire to learn a dance routine. She just wanted to wave her arms to music and scream. As was evident now, not too much has changed. "Okay, so your miraculous recovery sans Chanel aside, how was Thanksgiving? I don't see any battle wounds."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester Character Portrait: Roman Killens
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Outfit: This
Hex Code: #91415d
"Fine, come," Brooklyn replied, seemingly as if Roman was invited himself in an unwanted manner into her plans. It was her first reaction, the easiest way to release herself from the awkward tension she felt regarding the unwanted influx of feelings regarding him repaying her the money he owed her. "Only because I need someone to hold my bags for me," she added, and though that was meant to follow the same sassy standards as the first comment, it was more true than her insinuating that he was unwanted. She usually left Trader Joe's with more bags than she could comfortably carry, which meant that even if she did the twenty minute walk there, she was usually forced to opt for the seven minute subway ride home after she was finished shopping. Brooklyn didn't mind public transportation, especially since the subway was the most convenient and inexpensive way to get around in the city, but it was never truly pleasant to be packed into a subway car like sardines with strangers.

"Meet me downstairs when you're ready," she concluded, noting that he looked like he had just rolled out of bed, and not like he was ready to walk around in brink-of-winter weather. Besides that, she also didn't want to be walking around with a wad of cash in her pocket, so stopping back at her apartment seemed necessary at this point. She barely gave him time to respond before leaving his apartment and returning to her own, where she was surprised to see Cara and Chanel now in the living room. Honestly, their presences were mostly unwanted. She didn't feel like socializing with them, and though socializing wasn't necessary, or probably even wanted by them, the mere fact of having to acknowledge anyone's presence felt strenuous to her at this point. Which was why she barely even did that. She narrowed her eyes ever-so-slightly, and probably barely even noticably at them when she first saw them, but kept it moving then, as she headed into her own bedroom to securely leave the money, before heading out of the apartment and downstairs to the lobby of the building to wait for Roman.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Location: Apartment 5E
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Hex Code: #1BB3F5
Cara didn't know what else to do other than to laugh at Chanel's antics. The girl was so lively and animated, but in the best way possible, so even when it was clear that Cara had brought up a sore subject of the boyfriend (who seemed to be an ex now), she didn't have to feel awkward because Chanel didn't make things awkward. She was good at being upbeat and peppy, even when she didn't have to be, or when Cara wouldn't have blamed her for not being so.

"Truth be told, I barely survived Thanksgiving without you. Given the choice of guests that I had, you know I wasn't trying to go all out and make it the party of the year, but even with my minimal efforts, it still had the potential to be a better Thanksgiving than anyone I invited had ever experienced," Cara reveled, suddenly seeming more fired up as she rolled her eyes at the mere thought of how ungrateful all of her guests seemed now. "It was me, Collin, Brooklyn, Jude for a little bit, Jesse, Makayla and Holly. It should've just been Holly and I, though, given that everyone else ruined the night." It was probably a bit dramatic, but Cara didn't see it that way. Brooklyn ruined it through her unnecessary comments and menacing flirtations with her brother. Collin ruined it by playing along and then abandoning the party to go to their father's party, or all places. Makayla left and then never returned, and even though Cara was almost glad that Jude left early on too, she wanted to paint it as being done in the rudest of fashions, even if that was a blatant lie. And then there was Jesse's, whose exit from the party explained how she still felt about him enough in itself. It was possible that Cara would have delved deeper into her Thanksgiving, had Brooklyn not entered the apartment then, not even offering a hello or a smile as a form of a greeting. Had Cara been alone, she would have been perfectly content with it, but given that she had a guest, even if it was just Chanel, who lived across the hall, Brooklyn's cold demeanor seemed unnecessary and more off-putting than it normally would have. Once she had walked into the apartment, towards the hallway deep enough that her back was to Cara, Cara rolled her eyes at her, to signal to Chanel that the girl was just a bitch.

"But enough about me," she eventually said. "How was your Thanksgiving?" With a second thought, she added, "Oh! And unfortunately everything that I own is absolutely not going to work for our night tonight, but I have something at my dad's house that I think will work, and then if not, I'm going to need to do some quick shopping. Do you already know what you're wearing, or will you come with me so I don't go crazy?"

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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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While Chanel was rightfully known for being quite theatrical, she viewed Cara the same way. The blonde was clearly more tame in a behavioral sense, but the way she perceived and was affected by things was where they were comparable. Chanel was ready to hear Cara go on before Brooklyn walked in silently, snubbing the both of them. Chanel didn't know Brooklyn well enough to the point of being friends, but she knew not to take it to her, even if she did give Cara an equally knowing glance. Chanel, having been one herself in high school, was well acquainted with mean girls, and so girls like Brooklyn didn't phase her, yet they didn't seem to repel her either since Cara wasn't known for being a saint either. Just as Cara had found friendship in Chanel, initially, for superficial reasons, so had Chanel. She was drawn to the girl because of the familiarity of her type. Of course, it wasn't fair to Cara to just archetype her right away, but that spoke to Chanel's deeper nature, the bit that she was trying hard to change, somehow while still indulging in old habits.

In reality, she didn't need a new dress. She always found a reason to need something she didn't though. Dresses or any kind of fancier attire was her weak spot. It wasn't because she personally favored dresses and jewelry so much, but rather she wore them so often on her dates that she would want to discard the items immediately, as if that would also trash whatever memories she didn't want to hold onto. She didn't have so much disposable income to continuously toss her dresses and necklaces back to back, but she did it far more than necessary, especially since they were still nearly brand new. If she couldn't sell them online or in a store, then she would simply just donate it and call that her civic duty for the week. This time was no different. Her closet was full of appropriate attire, and even things she actually still liked, but she didn't want to wear the memories of nights with lonely men, even if they hadn't all been sexual encounters. Cara's need of a new dress only further rationalized Chanel's decision as she nodded eagerly.

"I am in the same boat," she said with theatrical hand gestures. "Girl, of course I will come with you. You already know I have a consumerism problem and I've told you time and time again to have your dad adopt me and to spread my ashes in your houses because I am that in love with it," she said, before adding with an acknowledging nod, "Okay, a bit much, but you get my point. Speaking of your family," Chanel cooed, "Where's the baby?," she said in reference to Collin. Even though she was only about a year and a half older than he was, because he was the little brother of her best friend, and she also had younger brothers, she saw him as such. She didn't know Collin to the same extent that she knew Cara, but she acted like she did and treated him as such, perhaps not all to Collin's liking. Part of it was Chanel being herself, and the other part was her projecting her failure with her own brothers onto him. "I want to say hi!"

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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Location: Apartment 5E
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Hex Code: #1BB3F5
"You really need to start calling it retail therapy and not a consumerism problem. I feel like I'm just as bad as you, and I'm not ready to admit that I have a problem with anything," Cara warned light-heartedly. She knew that she and Chanel came from different financial backgrounds, but at the same time, Chanel did a very good job at keeping up with an appearance of having more money than she did, or at least more expendable money than she really did. Given that, Cara truly saw Chanel as being more of a financially-speaking equal than she actually was. She had no idea that the girl made money off of dating older men. Maybe it spoke to how she didn't care enough to look deeply into other people's lives. The comment about blowing all of her money on alcohol over paying the light bill didn't hold any semblance of reality to Cara. Even though Chanel was saying it playfully too, in Cara's world, having to put one over the other simply did not exist, so even if she wanted to, she couldn't find anything but humor in the girl's words. In her defense, she was used to socializing with people who could keep up with her financially, so it would have been out of character for her to go out of her way to look for a reason for why Chanel wasn't truly as comfortable as she seemed. It was ignorant and reflected her sheltered upbringing, but the fact that Cara wasn't worldly wasn't anything new.

Her inquiry about Collin had Cara scrunching up her face in dramatic disgust, before she relaxed it and shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. He's probably out with his dorky friends or something, I really don't know, but he's not home." Now that Brooklyn had come and gone, the apartment door closed securely behind her, Cara had no problem with adding, "And this is going to sound absurd, I know, but I swear to you, Brooklyn seemed one drink away from literally..." She was on the verge of saying 'trying to fuck him', but saying that, especially about her little brother, sounded far too crude and gross. "Trying to... I don't even know... sleep with him, I think. It was seriously disturbing." Cara wasn't an over protective older sister. She didn't mind the idea of Collin having a girlfriend, and so long as the girl he was dating was pretty and respectable, Cara wouldn't ever meddle too much. However, the mere fact that Thanksgiving night had involved someone she knew... with that someone being Brooklyn, nonetheless... it was definitely a different story.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Hearing Cara reveal what she did about Brooklyn and Collin had Chanel pulling her face down into a disgruntled, bothered frown. She visibly shuddered and shook her arms out to relieve herself of the news. "Unhhh, grosssss," she said as she stood up and folded her arms, walking around the couch. "Aren't there laws against that or something?" she offered with a small smile in Cara's direction, not to discount what the girl was feeling, but to keep it light and perhaps hint that it probably wasn't anything to worry about. She hadn't been there, so she couldn't judge for herself, but it was the next best thing she could do, to make it seem like nothing so then perhaps Cara could also be convinced that it wasn't anything. Chanel would admit, though, that that was pretty weird. "That does make me wonder..." she said as she pranced into the kitchen. She went to the fridge and opened the door. "I mean, not to get weird or anything, but Collin is hardly repulsive," she began, quickly leaning around the door, her hand out towards Cara as if to tell her to wait. "Though not nearly as beautiful as you of course. But still," she returned to look back in the fridge, "Pretty odd-- Ohhhh my god!"

Chanel tossed the fridge door closed and looked at Cara incredulously. "Are you aware that you don't have any leftovers in that refrigerator?" Chanel knew Cara well enough that it wasn't as surprising as she was making it seem. Although a lot of people kept holiday leftovers not to prepare for the cold of winter but simply because there was no point in discarding it, she was still sometimes culture shocked by Cara's relationship with the world. No matter how rich you were, she thought, you would still have leftovers on the Monday after Thanksgiving. The only reason you wouldn't is if you had a huge family and finished everything, and Chanel knew well enough that that wasn't the case with Cara. Chanel threw her head back and whined. "You didn't even save me a sweet potato pie?" Chanel opened the fridge door again and looked, as if something had changed. "Cara, how am I supposed to mooch off you if you don't leave me things to mooch off of? Now I'm gonna have to steal your shampoo or something," she said, even though she was sure her and Cara, what with them having totally different hair, didn't use the shampoo.

Chanel shook her head, bringing herself from the distraction and back to the original topic. "But right, agreed. Brooklyn and Collin, major X." She went back to the living room, part way sitting on the back of the couch as she thought then looked cautiously over towards Cara. "But, in Brooklyn's defense, and don't hit me," she added before continuing. "She is super pretty. I mean have you seen that girl's cheekbones? Like I get she's kind of a bitch, but if I looked like that I would be too. But," she added, sticking her pointer finger out for emphasis, "Yes, she's a witch who probably gets her looks by feeding off the energy of today's youth. Like in Tangled," she added. "But anyways, we're going to your place. Do I...need to get dressed?" she asked, before realizing she should probably clarify since she of course wasn't going to leave in her pajamas. "What I mean is," she began, slowly for effect, because she was partially joke but also slightly serious, "What do you think the chances are of an Upper East Side socialite picking me up if I'm in sweats? Be honest. I'm thinking 50/50--maybe 55/45 because of that post breakup glow, but you tell me because I need a man with a solid 401k and a haircut more expensive than my grocery budget."

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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Cara had been distracted just enough by the never ending stream of texts that always seemed to be coming in through the group chat she had with her childhood friends, that she didn’t have it in her to shoot Chanel a death glare at the mention of Brooklyn’s beauty or the innocent and mere reference to it not being baffling that Brooklyn might go for him. The way that the conversation in the group chat had transformed from the girls eagerly discussing reuniting when they all returned to the city for the Christmas holiday in a month, into them going on and on about their current love lives—all of which seemed to be picture perfect, or picture perfect compared to Cara’s—left her finally tuning back into what Chanel was saying completely, as she turned on “Do Not Disturb” mode in the group. “All of my leftovers should be at your place anyway!” she exclaimed, backtracking a bit as if it were necessary to defend herself over Chanel’s earlier comments, even if the girl had already moved on. “I gave them to Makayla and Holly, for the most part, and if anything, I should be the one complaining about you not bringing me back anything from your family’s holiday!” Chanel had just taken her turn marveling about her fascination with Cara’s childhood home and neighborhood, so Cara could return the favor for a moment, especially since it was meant genuinely, and not simply to even the playing field. “T-B-H, I’m slightly offended that you’ve never invited me to come back to Pennsylvania with you! Getting to experience a functioning family for a few days would be a nice change, you know, Chanel,” she said in a playfully chiding tone.

It wasn’t like Chanel and Cara frequently talked about their family lives, and for the most part, it came in bits and pieces, like Chanel mentioning she had just accidentally texted her brother, or Cara complaining about Collin. Obviously, Chanel knew more about Cara’s family life than she knew of Chanel’s, since for one, Collin lived with Cara, but also because Cara had never really left her family life. She had moved out of her childhood home, sure, but she was still surviving off of her father’s money, and her father only lived right uptown, not states away like Chanel’s family did. Cara never pried into Chanel’s family dynamics, simply because she had no reason to assume that they were anything but normal. They were clearly close enough where Chanel could spend weeks with them during vacations, and she knew that Chanel kept in touch with them frequently between texting and calling and so on. Nothing seemed abnormal, and the mere fact that she had two parents who were alive and still married after, assumingly, twenty something years together, made Chanel’s family seem very traditional compared to Cara’s. “And I haven’t been to Pennsylvania in like… years,” she continued, only remembering ever actually going there on one occasion to go to Hershey Park when she was a child. It was quite possible that she had been there more than that one time, especially if she was counting driving through the state to go to other places, but it definitely wasn’t somewhere that she would specifically go to nowadays, without a reason like the one she was reprimanding Chanel for not giving her. “You guys live in like, the suburbs there, right?” she inquired, continuing to put off answering Chanel’s questions in favor of asking her own. Cara’s father currently owned a house in the Hamptons and one just south of Miami, so Cara had experienced life outside of the city well enough. Even then, none of that was suburb life, which she imagined involved spending your summers playing in the streets with neighborhood children until sunset, chasing the ice cream man for blocks, sneaking out of your bedroom window at midnight to run off to some underage party that your parents had forbid you to go to, having your crush stand outside throwing rocks at your window in the middle of the night… things that were all probably just things she pulled out of movie scenes. Though she didn’t truly crave a life like that, the moments alone seemed pure enough for her to want to experience them, even in an indirect way like having a friend who experienced them.

She finally addressed Chanel’s questions with a small smile, resisting an eye roll, as she decided that she should probably go get changed now too. “That post breakup glow is definitely there,” she agreed with a giggle. “But don’t get all dressed up! I don’t have the energy for that, and I don’t need to be looking any uglier than I already do standing next to you!” she continued. “Keep it casual or I’ll kill you!” seemed like the best way to sum up her feelings. “And then meet me downstairs when you’re ready! I’m only giving you half an hour, just to ensure that you don’t pull a Chanel and go all out on me,” she added teasingly.

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Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Chanel's mouth curled her mouth into an O in sudden realization that the leftovers she'd seen in the fridge belonged to Cara. Well, at least used to. This changed things for Chanel since now she felt she could grab a helping for herself since it wasn't Makayla's in the sense that the girl had made it for her and Holly. Although, Chanel recognized later, the initial assumption didn't make sense to begin with, but she too would blame that on her breakup and call it her body ridding all the frayed brain cells that had accumulated during that relationship. A part of her wondered if she should feel bad for having her opinion change so much when finding out that Cara had given the girls the leftovers, but she then rationalized that it wasn't. And if anything, it was quite nice of her. Here she was, damn near starving and having to settle for fruitless yogurt parfait, because that was such a tragedy. She would sooner than a dollar from a rich person than a poor person, so she figured food also applied to that rule of thumb as well. Chanel figured she would still text Makayla about it anyway. She didn't know the girl that well, outside of just wanting to be friends with her and them exchanging friendly conversation, but she did know well enough that they weren't living the lap of luxury. Chanel never heard talk of other relatives and Holly was indication enough that something off must have happened in the past, but even those assumptions, sound as they were, felt wrong as well.

"I do live in like the suburbs," Chanel responded with a smile. "But my brothers wouldn't know what to do with you, they're such meatheads. You would honestly probably disown me." While Chanel was really only referring to her youngest brother, the one who she didn't have a near estranged relationship with, it was much easier to just clump them together rather than to go into much detail, contrary to her normal mode of conversation. "But," she began again, "You will definitely get that invite soon enough. Once I'm done training my family into not embarrassing me." She, of course, was exaggerating, but, like many people, she was more critical of her life than others even though she felt others were more critical than she was. She failed to realize just what a normal life she had, or used to. It seemed like everything before her brothers attempt wasn't as bad as it had seemed at the time and that she should have been grateful for a normalcy she didn't realize was there. But, that, she knew wasn't fair either, because that also meant ignoring the pain her eldest brother was going through at the time. Yet still, a large part of her wished she could remain ignorant to everything from the past that shaped her reality now. "All right. Keep it cas--life is on the line. Got it. But, Cara Forrester, if you make me wait downstairs for more than five minutes, I am going back to my room and changing a flaw that I know I will find. And then afterwards, my Thanksgiving deets," she added as she made her way through the door.

Once Chanel was inside her own apartment, she stole to the refrigerator to grab a handful of leftovers. Just enough to curb her appetite and assure that she would definitely be hungry within the next hour. Going back to the chaos that was her room, she found her mood was refreshed, being that she now had plans and was at best a one-day-max homebody kind of person. She wasn't the type to sit still and enjoy it; she felt depleted and pretty useless. "Cas, cas," she repeated aloud to remind herself as she shuffled through her suitcase, tossing her worn clothes onto her bed, still annoyed that she didn't have the chance to wash them for free before leaving. With that, she realized she couldn't even wear her clean clothes because they'd touch her dirty ones. It didn't run that deep in reality, as the suitcase still smelled like a mix of her house and dryer sheets she kept inside it, but with Chanel, there was no such thing as basic, only extra. So she looked around her room until deciding on an old sweater she was pretty sure she'd stolen from one of her brothers. Just to be sure, and to take a cute pic, she snapped their group snap with the caption 'which twin did i rob??? v comfy btw'. Newly distracted, Chanel took the time to check her brief snapstory, debating whether or not to delete the one from this morning or not. She caught a glimpse of the time just then, realizing she needed to do something with her face and hair, although by the time she'd hit the twenty-five minute mark, the latter was still unattended.

Chanel pulled the corner of her mouth into a disappointed purse, realizing she might have to settle. She fluffed and fingered through her hair. There wasn't time to wet it to reactivate her curls, so she decided to just rock it the best she could. As she left, phone in hand, she got a Snapchat notification from Devon, the youngest in the family, to the attune of 'i'm going to kill you'. Chanel, feeling satisfied but not enough to stop from provoking the situation, responded with: 'aka ur telling ur mom. tell her i say hi!' Chanel put her phone down long enough to munch on more granola even though she knew she was using up some time, she figured she could waste five minutes. In that amount of time, she sent Makayla a short but sweet text.

To: Makayla

dts luego???

Capping it off with three leaf and smoke puff emojis. 'Dts' was an acronym--Down To Smoke--that Chanel was trying to get to catch on, convinced that it was close to genius. While she didn't know Makayla well enough to call her a friend, they'd smoked together enough time for her to think of the girl as smoke buddies at best, smoke acquaintances at worse. She checked snapchat again, a video of her brother going downstairs, calling for their mom while giving the camera a dirty look. Chanel rolled her eyes then, knowing what to expect in the next minute or so, and surely, after she locked the door and text Cara that she was heading downstairs, she received a facetime call from her mother. She and her brothers, after surprising their mother with an iPhone 6s for her birthday this past summer since they were sick of her old and busted Nokia that she refused to let go, they'd introduced her to Facetime, and since then, the woman wouldn't let that go either. When she answered, Chanel didn't bother to say hi, knowing her mother would be coming at her in her sharp-tongued native Arabic, which she did. "Oh, my god! It's a shirt! He didn't even realize it was gone until I said something," Chanel responded back, not in English either, only because she wasn't around anyone else. Around company, she spoke in English on the phone even if her parents didn't, only out of politeness. She saw Devon in the background, behind his mother, casting obnoxious faces in Chanel's direction as her mother chastised her for 'hurting her baby'. "Mommy, what foundation are you using? Your skin looks so pretty," Chanel said, purposely redirecting the conversation. In the back, Dev's face fell flat as he understood Chanel's intent. Her mother was confused, being that she wasn't wearing anything, which Chanel very well knew. "Aww, why are you so pretty? I wish I looked like you." Chanel cooed, her mother then coming to her side to reassure her that she is very beautiful. Devon tossed his hands in the air in disbelief. As her mother was talking, she got a text from him saying, 'you suck'.

She neared the bottom of the stairs, her mom still telling her that she was a beautiful girl (not failing to mention that Chanel got it from her) whom she was proud of, before managing to throw in an annoyed, "But you need to brush your hair. How many times do I have to tell you to brush your hair? You and your brothers walk around like I'm raising a zoo in my house. How does that make me feel? I fed you, I washed you, I changed your diapers. I just fed the both of you. You ate all my food and you can't even brush your hair? Why do you do this to me?" Chanel, understanding where she got her own dramatics from, couldn't roll her eyes in front of her mom, but she didn't share exasperated and bewildered looks with her brother in the back as she took a seat on the steps, placed her fist beneath her cheek, and listen to her mother express her grievances.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Location: Apartment 5E
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Hex Code: #1BB3F5
Chanel's departing words meant that Cara really had to stick with the thirty minute deadline that she had given the other girl, because she didn't doubt that Chanel was being truthful in her threat to return to her room to change if she kept her waiting. While Cara had insisted that Chanel dress casually, she didn't personally plan on dressing that casually. The thing about girls like Chanel, and even Cara herself, was that they could really pull off any look. The two of them probably could have walked out of their building as they were, in just pajamas, and still get looked at (in a complimentary way) than half of the other people walking the streets. That was why Cara didn't feel bad about not sticking to the super casual rule that she had attempted to force onto Chanel. She believed that Chanel would look good walking the streets in pajamas, but didn't believe the same about herself. It was silly to be so insecure, and maybe unfair in a sense, but before Chanel had even left, Cara already knew exactly what she was going to wear for their pre-GNO excursion. That was the only reason for why it didn't take long for her to get ready.

She had to have been pretty close to her thirty-minute promise, because when she got downstairs, Chanel was still down there, too. Cara noticed fairly quickly that she was on the phone with someone, though it wasn't until she was close that she realized that it was a Facetime call. Though she was compelled to be awkwardly polite and either bend over and say hello, or tell Chanel to tell her that she said hello, once she realized that it was Chanel's mother, she remained a few feet away, deciding that maybe it was more polite not to intrude like that at all. It wasn't like she knew Chanel's family at all, outside from seeing pictures of them every now and then. She wouldn't have minded waiting for Chanel to finish her conversation either, but only seconds after she reached the lobby, a notification popped up on her phone that their Uber had arrived. "The car's here!" she whispered, passing Chanel with a smile and a slight raise of her eyebrows in what was meant to seem like excitement. "I'll meet you out there. No rush!" she added, giggling quietly as she caught a glimpse of the less-than-enthused look that Chanel had been giving the person on the other end of the call.

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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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C A R A - F O R R E S T E R

Location: Apartment 5E
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #1BB3F5
[/left]Chanel nodded apologetically towards Cara before turning back to the phone, her mother still lamenting over her grievances. She began to stand, opening her mouth some as she tried to find an opportunity to interject her mother's lecture. "Mom, I need to go," she began before her mother continued to complain about Chanel's hair. This time, Chanel decided to just interrupt her, not wanting to leave Cara waiting. "Okay, okay, okay. I will. Bye," she said as she headed to the door. "All right then," her mother said. "Love you." Chanel frowned at the screen and raised her eyebrow. "Do you? Mom, I'm kidding. Love you too." She had just finished putting her hair into a high bun when she got into the car with a heavy sigh, briefly greeting the driver. "Oh my god, my mom seriously just spent the past five minutes roasting my entire existence," she began, giving a quick run down of the situation with the shirt and her mom's frustration with her children's constant bickering. "She was seriously like I just fed you bitches this past weekend and you can't brush your hair or get along? Um, hello, that's your job. You're supposed to feed us. Like, sorry you gave birth to us, Mom. See, this is why you can't come to my house. I don't even want to come to my house." Chanel took a deep breath then before smiling. "Anyways. You look cute," she said, pointing out the respective parts of Cara's outfit. "I'm very pro-belly-out. Hair is a yes. Shoes are bomb. And I need that purse. Thank you for being you, Cara."

Cara giggled at Chanel's explanation of the conversation she had just had with her mother. While to Chanel, this was a perfect example of why Cara shouldn't want to come to her house, to Cara, it was kind of exactly why she found Chanel's life to be so... cute. Cute was a weird word for it. It was dismissive, probably. Calling Chanel's like "simple" or something like that would be a vast understatement, and only reflect Cara's ignorance. Even with Cara not knowing the more traumatic parts of Chanel's upbringing, if either of them could claim that their life was simple or easy, simply based off of what they did know, it would probably be Cara. Still, though, she just somehow felt like Chanel's seemed less complex. It was more traditional, with a mother who clearly cared a lot about her, and was probably there on the day of her prom, snapping a thousand photos, and would be there on her wedding day, and to babysit the grandchildren some day... To Cara, "cute" was the only word she could think of, because since she didn't know that life, it was easy to assume that it was sweet. Having parents who would bicker with you over meals and hairstyles (and not threaten to cut you off for disliking the fact that they married a gold digger) seemed sweet and innocent. Maybe not enviable to a point where she truly wanted to switch her entire life to assume Chanel's, but that aspect of it, having a more structured and normal family, was definitely something she would trade her own for. "If that's enough for you to think I shouldn't come to your house, then I'm lucky that you've never seen Collin piss me off enough to a point of basically attempted murder, because you would never come over again," she countered, then smiling and tossing her hand in a bout of attempted modesty, at Chanel's praise. This was why Chanel was such a good girl friend to have around. She could boost anyone's confidence up in a split second.

"I feel like I barely have any time left for my crop tops, so I had to wear one today. Ugh, I'm so not ready for winter, are you? I actually can't completely complain, because I'll be in Florida in a few weeks, and then I want to do a few weekend trips to warm places in January. I forget if I already told you about this, so stop me if I have, but I was supposed to go to Disney with Collin and my grandparents. My grandfather just broke his hip or something, I don't even know, so of course they bailed and now my dad wants me to just go with Collin. A-K-A kill me now, but I guess the warm weather will be worth it. I'm sure you'll be doing all of your family stuff as usual during that time, since it's around Christmas, but if you're not, you should totally come. I was thinking about inviting Makayla and Holly, because Holly mentioned that she had never been to Disney before and I feel like that's like depriving her of a basic need, but I feel like Makayla will say no. You know how she is about that stuff."

Chanel smiled ear to ear as she twirled a loose nape curl around her finger. "You definitely should convince her otherwise. Holly would love it, omg! If I was you, I would definitely ask sooner than later because I think Makayla might actually go for it. And maybe if I can go, I can help you convince her." Chanel checked the calendar on her phone. She didn't have anything booked for home, simply because a train ticket into Pittsburgh wasn't few and far between. She usually went home for as long as she could when she felt like it, but so long as she was back before Christmas, a trip to Disney actually sounded fun. She was certain that, even if she could go, her parents would put up a fit about it because they're so family focused, but she was sure that would be easier to work around than the price of the ticket, of which she knew her parents wouldn't help out with. "Do you know when exactly you're going? If it's through Christmas, I would just have to leave a little early. I might be able to go if I work some more overtime. I'll check skyscanner tonight."

"It's just awkward because... I don't know. I feel like she always acts like I'm being bitchy or something by offering legit anything to Holly. It's like... uncomfortable. I don't know how to explain it, but like I would literally much rather go with you and them, or just you, than just with Collin. It's a three bedroom villa on The Boardwalk, and I doubt any of my other friends will be around, so you guys should seriously come," she said. She didn't intend for that to sound like she was only inviting Chanel, Makayla and Holly because her other friends weren't available, because that wasn't the case. She hadn't even reached out to the other girls, though that was mostly because they were all already going on and on over text about plans for their significant others to meet their parents over Christmas break, or for girls' trips that they had planned that Cara had to opt out of due to the family trip she was obligated to take. "Maybe I'll just text her now about it. It's probably less awkward over text, right? It's the week before Christmas, I think I'm supposed to come back on Christmas Eve or maybe the day before, and literally shut up about working over time. You'll be doing me a favor by coming, so whenever you find out if those dates are good for you or not, just tell me and I'll book your flight." She had turned to her phone momentarily in an attempt to find the dates she was going for certain, but she looked up quickly to eye Chanel, somewhat playfully, but mostly seriously. "And don't even comment on that, or you'll be labeled as the new Makayla for making my life unnecessarily difficult."

Chanel had known Cara long enough and well enough to where Cara spotting her for things didn't make her very uncomfortable. In the beginning, obviously, but she was sometimes in the habit of not even noticing. Trying to pay the girl back never worked, and perhaps it spoke to Cara's good nature that she wouldn't accept money that she didn't need, or maybe it spoke more to the fact that money really wasn't that much of a problem. That being said, Chanel did try to be polite from time to time, although she could honestly say she would side eye Cara if she was eager to get paid back for anything. Plane tickets were different, though, and she innately tightened her lips awkwardly as Cara's nonchalant offer, looking away innocently when Chanel was caught. "I didn't say anything,"[/color] she said, although her face said well enough. The oddness still stirred in the air, something she knew only she felt. In an attempt to dissipate it, she turned to Cara, a smile vacant from her face. "I mean, if we're putting offers on the table, do you also want to donate half a million to my I'm Sick of Being Poor campaign on Gofundme?"

Cara could only roll her eyes at Chanel's response to her insistence. Growing up, she never necessarily thought of herself as being as well off as she was. She understood very well that there were people who were much poorer than she was. She would see them sitting on the streets in midtown, whenever she forced her father to take her to FAO Schwartz as a little girl. Until she was a teenager, really, though, she basically only assumed that people either had money, like her, or they were homeless and dirt poor. She didn't truly understand that there were people who worked just as hard, if not harder, than her father, and still struggled to pay their bills or buy their children toys. She only grew up and associated with people who were just as well off as her, so she was ignorantly sheltered from that reality. As she got older, of course, she grew to understand how the world worked, but it was probably still apparent at times that she didn't quite understand it to the extent of people who actually lived it. "All I want to do is find an outfit that's somewhat suitable for tonight, and if it's not too much to ask, spend a relaxing week with my beautiful friend Chanel in Disney World, sipping cocktails in Epcot and getting some color since I literally look like a sick ghost next to you. Is that too much to ask?"

"Aww, Cara," Chanel cooed and placed her hand over heart before taking Cara's hand in her own. "Don't say that," she said, placing a light kiss on the girl's hand and patting in gently. "You look like a very healthy ghost to me." Chanel laughed at her own joke, not uncharacteristically finding herself funnier than most others did, and pulled away from Cara, holding her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Just let me know and I'll try to make it. I bet bikinis are super cheap right now too and can you imagine me, humble Chanel, bumping into my future husband in Market Street? He's optimistically dressed like a 1920's pauper, and I've somehow managed to fit those Mickey Mouse hats over my hair. He offers to buy me one of those giant rainbow lollipops and we laugh in front of Cinderella's castle. Then he tells me he's a millionaire and asks if it's too soon to fly to Europe together. Then I, of course, say duh but that I do accept monthly allowances via Paypal." Chanel pulled herself back to reality in time to give Cara a humored smile. As she dug into her purse for her chapstick, she nodded to herself, recalling something. "Also, while I'm still down to shop, I realized that even though I'm still off work, and so technically still on vacation, that it wasn't a normal Monday for everyone else. And now I'm second guessing going out tonight?"[/color] she said hesitantly, as if she would get in trouble. "Like, don't only desperate old men go out on Monday's? Should I just be a normal twenty-something and eat ice cream with my best friend in my pajamas?"

Cara only stopped herself from jokingly telling Chanel that she hated her after her playful remark about her paleness, because the girl went on about a fantasy situation where she found a wealthy suitor in Disney that answered her financial woes. She had to laugh at that, though there might have been a slight eye roll in her reaction as well. "Did you just call Main Street, Market Street, Chanel? I'm offended and I'm starting to feel like you're just as much of a Disney novice as Holly is," she said playfully. Cara wasn't some Disney fanatic who knew every word to every Disney movie or visited Disney for every event that they threw. Her family visited the resorts at least once a year growing up, though, due to the vacation club membership that they were involved in, so she did consider herself to be well acquainted with the place. It was probably one more reflection of her privilege, especially given that to her, going to Disney seemed like a rite of passage for children. The idea of parents not taking their kids their seemed nearly equivalent to neglect, regardless of their financial situation.

Her smile dropped a bit at Chanel's inquiry about the logic behind going out on a Monday. Admittedly, Monday was probably one of the quieter, if not the quietest nights in the city. There wasn't a day of the week where all of the clubs were closed or dead, because that just wasn't New York, but Chanel was right in the fact that most of the people they would want to be partying with would be out generally between Thursday and Saturday. That didn't mean that the clubs would be packed with gross old men, but they would have less of a selection. That didn't necessarily bother Cara, as she was honestly content with just getting drug with Chanel, but then again, what was the point of doing that in a club, when they could do it at home in their pajamas with a nice bottle of wine? "Ugh, good point," she said, groaning dramatically as if Chanel had inconvenienced them by pointing that out. "I guess clubbing on Mondays is kind of overrated unless it's summer time," she admitted. "We should still do something though. Definitely shopping, yes. We'll still go to my house and you can tell me which bathing suits are absolute no's for our trip, and then I still think we should do shopping and manicures to lift your mood, and then dinner somewhere cute, and then wine and a movie. Doesn't that sound even more exciting than Paypal payments from Prince Charming?"

Instead of going on a long, verbose monologue about how she was content with Cara's plan, Chanel simply smiled approvingly and gave her a thumbs up. A large, unexpected part of her was actually happy about the change of plans because the prospect of her recklessness was gradually starting to seem like a terrible idea. While today would still be one of emotional splurging, it was no where as bad as how much could be spent on a nice night out. "Damnit, Cara, now you're making me wish I was in Florida already. What color should I get today?" she said, referring to her nails as she flexed her hand out and surveyed it. They were completely bare, not something totally odd for Chanel. The thing with her was that, while she had a tendency toward being high maintenance, and that showed especially well when she was around Cara who could passively enable that behavior, Chanel was also laid back in a lot of aspects. That probably had to do with the fact that she was one of only two girls in the household, and while she definitely was spoiled what with being the oldest and the only daughter, she wasn't of the upbringing where she got everything she demanded. Still, though, when she couldn't get something she wanted, it was usually supplemented for something lesser and comparable, if possible.

"Ooh!" she clapped her hands together, eyes wide and expressive. "Facials too? What about a spa day? I would much rather spend a lot of money on me than indirectly on that asshole through a bunch of cocktails in a nightclub," she said. "And, and, and. We could technically still get a nice dress today. Just to wear around the city and walk into the club like 'Hey, bitches, I run this place.' Well, the last part is more for me, but you get what I mean. What do you think?"[/color] Just as she finished speaking, her phone started buzzing. As she fumbled around it, she looked at Cara questioningly, wondering if it was hers. Chanel rolled her eyes at the name on the Caller ID, and her tone matched her aggressiveness. "What?" she said, her expression looking more exasperated before swiftly changing to that of anger in the next ten seconds. "Quit calling my damn phone about stupid shit, Dev." She tossed her phone to the seat, rolling her eyes again as she exhaled. "Collin is honestly nothing compared to that little shit, trust me. Literally a demon in disguise, the little twat."

Cara could definitely go for a spa day, even though it was nearing the five o'clock mark, so probably a bit late for it. She didn't trust her face or her body at all, really, with just any salon, so it would take a call or two to ensure that wherever she and Chanel decided on made room to fit them in at such late notice, but it wasn't something that worried her. Growing up, she and her friends were those obnoxious girls who visited the spa weekly, refused to be serviced unless "their girl" was taking care of them, and spent heart-attack-inducing amounts of money on frilly services that none of them needed. She still visited the spas occasionally, but doing it so frequently alone wasn't fun, so she limited herself to monthly pampering, if that. That didn't count manicures and pedicures, which she found herself getting weekly, if for no other reason than to pass time, but the full-blown spa days she reserved, usually, for when her friends were around, or when she felt depressed and in desperate need of some revitalization. Surprisingly, she had never thought to invite Chanel to the spa before. It was just something that she associated with her high school friends, so to have Chanel suggest it definitely lifted her mood.

She remained smiling, even as Chanel paused to answer a phone call, one that ended with her hinting that it was her brother on the other line, in a clearly annoyed fashion. "You can complain all you want, but just remember that you're not stuck living with yours anymore," she said, shaking her head in dramatic dismay. "But on that note, I think it seals the deal that you need a spa day. I do too, but I'll blame you for this. Should we just postpone clothes for now and go relax, and then go eat and prepare for our wine and movies? I have people at The Spa at The Oriental, and at Caudalie. Which do you like better?"

Setting

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Collin Forrester Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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ImageMonday, November 28th, 2016

Time: 8:30 PM
Weather: Sunny, 50°/ 38°


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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Outfit: This
By the time night had fallen, it was safe to say the Chanel was feeling ten times better and more rejuvenated than she had been twelve hours ago when she was wallowing away in her bedroom. And while the end of the day, regardless, would have likely been the same--her ending up drunk off wine and movies--this version was far less pathetic in her mind, despite being pricier as well. Chanel wasn't wealthy enough to afford a lot of lavish days, but coupled with the fact that she actually did enjoy making her own treatments and products, she would have been completely fine with even just pampering herself. There was something fun to crafting things by hand and being able to revel in the end result, but there was also a benefit to just having to lay back and relax while all the work was done for you. Given the circumstances, as well, she wouldn't have really wanted to make anything tonight either.

Chanel had gone home long enough to take a shower and change. It had taken her half an hour longer than she told Cara it would take because of the last minute decision to go to the store to get some snacks. She'd had the sudden revelation that wine and caramel popcorn would taste amazing together, but of course ended up with more than she had intended to buy. She reasoned that it wasn't so bad since she'd be splitting it with Cara, if the girl wasn't too full from dinner. After, again, stopping by her own apartment to grab a bottle of wine to bring, she headed over to her friend's apartment. Being the way she was, she couldn't just easily come in and pour a glass of wine and then retire to a nice movie. Instead, she had to excuse her appearance and, of course, give a detailed story about all the woes and humors she encountered in the time spent apart with Cara.

"Damnit, I should have bought ice cream," she said, shuffling through the things she'd placed on the counter, which should have more than made up for the lack of the dessert. Chanel wasn't usually a junk food kind of person, as her fridge would probably reveal. She didn't follow a strict diet by any means, but just opted for as healthy as she could, sometimes switching her diet up for a week or so, like eating vegan or cutting out only consuming fish for meat. In her household, it was more of less the same, especially recently what with all the fad diets, but to a far lesser extent. While three meals a day was the standard, eating only whole grain, mostly organic, switching rice out for quinoa, and so on, simply wasn't a reality. Not because they couldn't afford it, although Chanel was sure price did come into play, but because her family didn't care about it as much as she did. It wasn't to say that they were eating fast food all of the times, but if there were apples to eat, Chanel couldn't really complain about them not being from Whole Foods, and she didn't really feel the need to. Like now, while she got an entire weekend of cheat days, she didn't care so much about not returning to her normal style of dining, as she'd opted for an off brand of Frosted Flakes to munch on as well--a childhood snack of hers. "This might be overkill," she said as she crunched on a few pieces of cereal and fumbled with her phone to open Spotify, "but you know anything involving wine is something I take very seriously."

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Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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C A R A - F O R R E S T E R

Location: The Forrester Residence | 10 E 75th Street
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #1BB3F5
Cara had been hoping that her father's house would be empty when she arrived, after she and Chanel parted ways once dinner was over, but it wasn't. Her father wasn't home, which was a plus, but her stepmother, Alice, was. The woman knew better by now than to claim she was "surprised" to see Cara, because as Cara would always quickly remind her, this was her house before it was her stepmother's, and as soon as this sham of a marriage ended, it would be back to being only hers as well. One would have imagined that by now, Cara would have managed to grow up a bit. Get over those hard feelings that had initially come when she found out that a woman hired to act as an au pair to her and her brother was marrying her father. She hadn't though, and regardless of people telling her that she was immature for it, she had no plans to ever get over it. Part of her genuinely felt like she had a reason to hate this woman, even if she couldn't always come up with those reasons on the spot, but another part of her also knew that acting civil towards Alice now would make it look like she had realized that she had been wrong or at least irrational all these years, and Cara wasn't going to do that. She wasn't wrong, or if she was, she didn't want to be right.

Though she was content with acting callously towards the woman, the fact of the matter was that whenever she was, she always heard it from her dad afterwards, and it was more trouble than it was worth. That was the main reason for why Cara avoided her father's house, despite living so close to it. She didn't try to avoid Alice in fear of the woman, or because she didn't enjoy acting petty towards her, but rather because she as much as she hated to say it, she was still too dependent on her father to want to burn too many bridges there. She hadn't bothered with Alice in a while though, so she hadn't filtered herself with the few biting exchanges they had before the woman retreated to the upstairs half of the apartment where Cara hoped that she would remain for as long as Chanel was over. As much as she didn't want Chanel to meet her stepmother because she was sure the woman would say something that would get on Cara's nerves, she also didn't need the opposite happening, which was probably more likely, where Alice acted all sweet and lovely and Chanel made some comment about how she really didn't seem as bad as Cara painted her to be. That wasn't what this night was going to be about. It was going to be about wine and food and movies and relaxing, and luckily, Chanel's arrival came with most of that.

"I already have a bottle of red open if that's what you plan on drinking too," Cara offered quickly, only seeing the shape of Chanel's wine bottle in the plastic bag as the girl unloaded her things. On the right night, she was sure that the two of them could go through more than one bottle of wine, but they were already getting a fairly late start to the evening, considering that they weren't drinking this with dinner, so she didn't want Chanel to waste hers, if it was red wine too. She moved away from the island and over to the far counter where she grabbed the bottle of Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella Classico and waved it towards Chanel. Though she had made it sound like Chanel had an option to drink another kind of wine, Cara was already pouring a glass of it for the girl. If she didn't drink it, Cara's glass was almost empty... or it was, until she noticed that and topped it off with some more before returning the bottle to where she had found it. "Oh my God, Skittles!" she gushed, seeing the candy in front of Chanel. "I feel like I never eat candy anymore, and I love you for bringing those. Literally my guilty pleasure." The mention of ice cream also had Cara's taste buds singing. She normally didn't indulge too heavily in junk food either, but this was a girl's night, so she wasn't above making exceptions, especially when she knew that her father tended to keep a healthy supply of Ben & Jerry's in the freezer. She turned to the refrigerator and confirmed that as she pulled out three tubs of Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Half Baked and Salted Caramel Core. "I feel like you're usually the good movie night host, so don't let me mess tonight up. Your apartment is so much more cozy for things like this. I don't even know what we should watch, but wait, tablescape for me so I can post a cute Snap," she said, motioning to the junk food and wine in hopes that Chanel could arrange it in some way that would look artsy for her picture. "Oh! And did you figure out if the Florida dates work with your family stuff? I wanna make everything official tonight so that you can't back out on me."