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Chanel Nasiri

0 · 4,233 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: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Image
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Outfit: This
If Chanel had any concerns about being overzealous just seconds ago, Holly definitely gave her a run for her money. It was a good thing for Holly's hyper demand for Chanel to open her present because Chanel wasn't even sure what to respond to first. The only thing she could do in the immediate seconds following Holly's announcement was to crack a soft smile, some confusion in her eyes and give half a glance to Makayla. It wasn't to be rude or to signal that she was uncomfortable. Chanel was definitely appreciative and amused, clear by her soft laughter as she nodded and pulled the bag to her. "Okay, all right. Let's see... Yeah, there is," she said in response to Holly's comment on her hair. "Like salt and pepper." It was actually something she regretted saying the minute it left her mouth, only because her brother wouldn't stop referring to her as salt and pepper. She was sure Holly wouldn't snag the phrase herself and annoy Chanel, since her brother was purposely tried to be an asshole, but if she could take her words back, she would. Chanel laughed when she saw her mug, a wide grin on her face. "Wow, this is awesome you guys. I needed a new mug." She actually wasn't in real need of any sort of dishware, but she also didn't not need any. She wanted to say more than just thank you though and demonstrate that she really liked the cute mug. And it would be nice to drink her tea in, so she convinced herself that she perhaps really did need a new mug and didn't even realize it. But that was just Chanel being the type to think that something that was old but still perfectly useful was somehow less valuable. "I love how sparkly it is. And I love CVS," she exclaimed when she grabbed the gift card. "Thanks so much, you guys. This is great, seriously."

Chanel moved the mug away from the island, since it was currently the busiest spot in the kitchen. She didn't have anywhere else to put the little chocolates, at least not off the top of her head, plus it was cute in the mug so she didn't mind leaving it in there until she ate them all. "I'm gonna put it here until I finish all the chocolates," she explained, just because she didn't want to seem like she was just casually setting the gift aside. She was sure Makayla wouldn't perceive it that way, but she didn't want Holly to think she didn't like it just because she didn't start using it right that second. She checked the vegetables on the stove, stirring them a final time before turning the eye off. The oven just needed a few more minutes, but other than that, everything else was ready and her mouth promptly began watering. "I think everything is done! Holly did you want some?" Chanel asked, looking over her shoulder. It was then that her phone went off. Despite having just talked about her, it was a surprise to see the text belonged to Cara. "Speak of the devil. It's Cara."

To: Cara
i was just about to call you!! have i been ghosting you or have you been ghosting me?

To: Cara
i knew i forgot something. there was supposed to be a little card with details and instructions for all the masks. i'm about to eat dinner, so if you wanna come over now we can do a little swap! but the honey and rosewater mask is good for that. i usually make mine with yogurt, but i didn't want the mask to go bad. you can still definitely add it in tho :)

Chanel wasn't trying to be sly by inviting Cara over. It wasn't even an invitation to hang out, which also wasn't due to sly intentions either. She wasn't sure if Cara was even home or not, and was also distracted by wondering how she forgot to put the card in with the gift. Chanel also didn't feel like stopping everything just to bring over a little slip of paper that she could easily just take a picture of send it to the girl. She also figured it wasn't asking too much for Cara to drop by with the gift since Chanel had done the same. She didn't think Cara would be set on wanting Chanel to come over since it didn't really matter. Should Chanel remember later when she wasn't doing anything, she would certainly drop by, but in the present moment, it seemed to make the most sense for the two of them to just exchange. "She might drop by for a second, I don't know."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri
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#, as written by Bandit
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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #db0083

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M a k a y l a ~ W r i g h t
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: Here
"I told you that you should've had something to drink first," Makayla said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, though there was a soft smile on her face. Regardless of how odd and annoying Holly could be, it was odd and annoying in a sweet way. She was quirky, but she only ever had good intentions. Even though Makayla had told her a million times to not include that part about her killing someone to find new organs for Chanel, Holly still had to include it, and Makayla was actually glad that things had turned out this way, where Holly read the card to her in person. At least now, she had been able to roll her eyes and show Chanel that she had no part in writing that, and definitely did not approve of it, but also, make it clear that it wasn't that deep. Holly was just being her dumb, sweet self, and that was why Makayla had originally let her seal the envelope with that card in it. She got on top of Holly for a lot of things, but she wasn't so overbearing that she refused to let the girl have a personality, especially in harmless situations like this. She was pleasantly surprised that Holly actually let Chanel open the rest of the gift and didn't do so herself out of an abundance of excitement. She smiled at Chanel's appreciation, knowing that it probably wasn't enough to express her gratification for having her as a roommate, but appreciating her being grateful anyway.

"If paella means cinnamon toast in Spanish, then yes, I would love some!" Holly said, laughing to herself for no specific reason. Even if she would readily admit that the apartment smelled wonderful, she wasn't going to try the food that made it smell that way. She was too habitual, and though it was probably weird to be such a picky eater at her age, it was something that Holly wasn't ready to shake. She probably had some sort of sensory issue, or maybe it was all psychological-related that made her think that trying new foods would be detrimental. There were certain new things that she would try, but they were usually all junk food related, so that didn't really count. She turned to Makayla then. "That's actually what I want for dinner... cinnamon toast!" she said, abandoning her original, and very common request for macaroni and cheese. "Can you make it for me? Chanel will give you a million dollars in exchange for your wonderful services!" she added energetically, laughing some more. It was surprising that Holly didn't hone in on the "speak of the devil" phrase that Chanel had used, to ask what it meant, and if she was calling Cara a devil in a literal sense, but hearing that Cara was possibly coming by seemed more important in the moment. "Or we can stop by her apartment!" she suggested enthusiastically. That way, she could find the gifts that Cara was storing and make sure Chanel and Makayla got theirs! Holly wasn't even considering that Cara possibly had anything for her, because Makayla had told her more than enough times that the Disney trip was already a very generous Christmas gift from Cara to them. She was excited enough as it was already, at the prospect of being able to give gifts that she didn't need to have any for herself. Despite liking "things" in general, Holly wasn't greedy or materialistic. She was easily excitable, but it didn't have to involve gifts. "See, Makayla?" she said, pausing in her pursuit towards the front door. [color=#db0083]"She does like Chanel better than you!"

"You better not step a foot out that door. I'm not playing", she warned Holly, her mood growing a tad bitter at Holly's insistence that Cara preferred Chanel to them. Obviously this solidified Makayla's belief that Cara had been purposely ignoring her texts, but she didn't need Holly pointing that out. It went without saying, and it being said out loud just made things awkward. She knew that Holly wasn't trying to be malicious, but she couldn't stop her attitude from changing as she looked in Holly's direction with an expression that nearly dared her to try to go across the hall. She wasn't playing, and she was sure that translated through her expression. "I'll make your food. Go watch TV before you get yourself in trouble." The quick change in her mood probably seemed unfair and dramatic, but she wasn't as pissed off as she seemed. Sometimes, she just had to be more dramatic in order for Holly to realize that she was serious. There was no beating around the fact that Holly didn't pick up on a lot of social cues, so often times, when Makayla tried to be softer about deterring her from doing something, Holly didn't realize that Makayla was telling her to stop. It often took a more serious approach.

"But I--" The expression on Holly's face showed how she felt physically pained at being stopped from going across the hall to Cara's. She hadn't seen the girl in weeks, and given that they normally saw each other on a daily basis, that meant a lot to Holly. On top of just wanting to see Cara, she had the gifts at the top of her mind, and additionally, Chanel saying that she might come over anyway made it harder for Holly to not want to jump the gun and just go find Cara herself. She didn't like waiting. At the same time, the expression that Makayla was wearing made Holly know that she probably shouldn't push any farther. She supposed that getting the cinnamon toast she was craving would be good enough to hold her over for the moment, but still... this seemed unfair. Nevertheless, with a distinct frown on her face, she decided that she would go watch TV as suggested. She didn't leave the kitchen without looking back at Chanel though, to add something that she had been thinking for a minute now. "And your hair does look like salt and pepper, but also like a dalmatian!" she said, leaving them with that as she headed for the couch.

Another eye roll was all that Makayla responded to Holly with, but it was followed with an apologetic smile sent in Chanel's direction. "Rest assured, she'll be on Adderall starting tomorrow, so maybe 2017 will be a quieter and more peaceful year for all of us," she said, her tone still somewhat apologetic, even if she was trying to lighten the mood and show Chanel that she wasn't as annoyed as she had acted a minute ago. "If Cara does come by though, don't tell her that I told you she'd ghosting me. I mean, I'm sure Holly will do that for me anyway and make shit awkward, but I don't want her to think that I thought that much into it, you know? For all I know, maybe she did really just forget to answer or something." Makayla seriously doubted that, because even if she had forgotten to answer the texts, it wasn't typical of Cara to not reach out for days, even just to see about taking Holly out somewhere. Makayla did hope that it was nothing deep, especially since Cara was apparently fine with Chanel, and Chanel had been just as involved in the smoking as she had been, but it barely eased the paranoia and worry she felt. Though she had been tempted to use Holly's request for toast as a learning opportunity to show her how to cook something so basic, she had wanted the girl out of her hair more than she wanted to teach her right now. The penny-pincher inside of her cringed at the idea of wasting even a slice of bread when Chanel was offering them what would probably be a great meal, but Holly was Holly, and Makayla was past the point of arguing with her pickiness, so she popped a slice of toast into the toaster.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Collin Forrester Character Portrait: Makalya Wright 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: 304 W 14th Street
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #1BB3F5
"And you know what," Cara called out after him, once Collin had reluctantly taken the bag and silently headed towards his bedroom, in a manner that definitely fell under the "sulking" category. "I'm so embarrassed for you that I don't even want you to go over there. I'll drop them off." She still didn't want to have to do that, but given the options knowing that Collin had already made a fool out of himself, she decided she would take one for the team. She figured that maybe there was a chance that Makayla had taken Holly out to a movie, or to the library or something, anyway.

As she returned to her own bedroom to look for a gift that Collin could give Makayla, she realized that she still had other gifts in her room besides Chanel's. There was a bag of things that Holly had picked out for Brooklyn, and one for Makayla too, and then also gifts that Cara had purchased for Holly and Makayla. Despite them taking up a large space in her room, she had seemingly forgotten of their purposes until now. Part of her wanted to just return them all, or maybe drop them off at a Salvation Army or something, since that seemed like less effort than looking for receipts and actually going back to the stores. She knew that was childish, though. Even if she wanted to focus on herself this year with no distractions from people who didn't appreciate her, she could at least drift away from those relationships on a positive note. That would be the adult thing to do, she reminded herself, even if it wasn't what she really wanted to do. As she rummaged through a pile of things she had brought back to her apartment that her stepmother had given her for Christmas, she found a few Sisley Paris skincare items that she felt would be appropriate for Makayla. She also realized that if Collin was giving something to Makayla, he had to give something to Holly too, so she quickly found a scarf and a necklace that was new in the box, and threw them into a gift bag for the girl. Returning to the kitchen, she swapped out the wallet in Makayla's bag for the new skincare items, and also found two bottles of wine in the cabinets for both girls. They weren't anything special, but they were decent quality for gifting. Once Collin had returned with Chanel's wrapped gifts, she instructed him to help her carry over his gifts, and then all of hers (sans the ones meant for Brooklyn), before shooing him back to their apartment, and then, only once her apartment door was closed behind him, knocking on Chanel's door.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Image
Image
Hex Code: #c7256e
Outfit: This


Image
M a k a y l a ~ W r i g h t
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: This
Chanel managed a smile in Holly's direction that wasn't totally sympathetic. Oddly enough, she might have preferred Dalmatian, but that was likely because the former was attached to her annoying sibling. In retrospect, she shouldn't have said anything, especially not in front of Holly because now she's made the situation worse. "I won't," Chanel promised, digging out a plate from the cabinet. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I wasn't really thinking. I had something for her and said she could come through if she wanted, but it totally slipped my mind." Chanel's own frustration with herself was evident in her tense voice. She hated making stupid mistakes like that because, at least to her, it reflected just how selfish and, in some ways, stupid she was. Makayla hadn't seemed mad at her, so she told herself not to beat herself about it, but that didn't immediately shake the guilt off. She shoveled some of the paella onto the plate that she intended for her roommate. Chanel looked over her shoulder at her. "How much did you want? Did you also want what's in the oven?"

Makayla hadn't been expecting an apology, and her overthinking made her feel like she owed Chanel an apology just for thinking that she owed her one. Seeing Cara was definitely going to be awkward, but Makayla didn't want to act like it was that deep where she would get angry over Chanel innocently inviting her over, even if she did that minutes after Makayla confessed that Cara was ghosting her. It really wasn't that deep, she reassured herself, as she slowly shifted in her seat to look away from Holly who had disappeared into the living room, to turn back to Chanel, who was plating food. "Oh, I'll take anything. It all smells so good, so whatever you have the most of, I'll be happy with," she answered, again feeling awkward. Even if Chanel had been the one pushing her to eat, she still felt weird making any specific requests. It wasn't even like she was lying though. Unlike Holly, Makayla wasn't a picky eater and especially when she was eating for free, she was more than happy with whatever she got.

As Chanel filled the plate, she remembered that she needed to replace her dish set. It was currently still the Christmas themed ones that she liked to set out each year to make the apartment more festive. The little Christmas trees wouldn't really be that obvious once they were covered by the food, at least until that food was consumed, but she also wasn't bothered by it. She set the plate to the side long enough to grab the potatoes from the oven, shoveling some onto the plate as well. It was filled to the brim, initially intentional until she realized these were regular sized plates. Her normal set were smaller than the standard size, just because she, like most people, had a tendency to fill the plate entirely, and that easily led to overeating. "Okay, I may have went overboard," she chuckled, turning around to scoot it across the table. "I actually need to go get more groceries tomorrow, I wasn't expecting to use so much today." Granted, she had bought things specifically for this recipe and hadn't looked past it, so she was guaranteed to run out of just about everything. "Just be careful with the potatoes," she reminded, even though Makayla had seen her just take it out of the oven, and it was clearly still smoking. "It's still super hot."

"Oh my goddddddd," Makayla said, drawing out her words purposely, with emphasis. "This smells amazing, and looks just as good. Is your mom a good cook or something?" she asked, assuming that it was something that Chanel must have learned from somewhere. While living on your own warranted the learning of many skills, Makayla figured that most people their age still lacked real cooking skills. She could cook decently herself, but that was only because she grew up cooking for herself. Nowadays, no one would know that she knew how to cook anything aside from macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets, since financially she couldn't bring herself to eat meals that weren't just the leftovers of what she was making Holly that night. With that thought, she remembered the toast that she had placed into the toaster a few minutes before. Glancing over at it, it was beginning to brown, so she pulled it out. After melting some butter on it, she sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar and cut it into four pieces. Holly's tiny appetite was strange, and Makayla was often worried by it, but if she was being honest, she preferred that the girl ended up being full after eating one slice of bread. It kept the grocery bill that much lower. "Give me one second," she muttered, mostly to herself though, since she didn't think Chanel was waiting for her to eat.

She found Holly sitting in front of the television, which she appreciated, since for once, the girl followed directions. Though she often refused to let Holly eat on the couch, simply out of respect for the space shared with Chanel, tonight she wanted things to go smoothly, so she was going to pick her battles. Placing a glass of lemonade and the plate of toast on the coffee table, she warned her, "You better not spill this," before returning to the kitchen. "I don't even know where to start," she said, sitting down. "It all looks so good." She didn't pause before she started to eat though. It was all pretty hot, though she purposely avoided the potatoes, but the taste of real, good food, albeit hot food, was something she couldn't wait for.

"Oh, my mom's an amazing cook," she said. Most people would probably claim the same thing, but Chanel doubted just as many could say people thought their mom should open a restaurant. It wasn't just something she and her siblings thought, but comments they'd gotten from others as well. By today, though, it didn't seem like that would ever happen; not that it seemed likely to begin with. Her mother seemed perfectly content with nursing, and got all the satisfaction she needed from cooking for the ones whose opinion she actually cared about. Chanel had always adored her mom as a child, even if later she didn't always act like it. Like many little girls, she wanted to be just like her and do all of the things she could do. So when her mother was a dance instructor, Chanel had decided she wanted to be one too, but that was short lived since Chanel had no kind of discipline as far as dancing would require. She could do her chores and behave well enough not to get in trouble, but her ballet teacher couldn't hit her, so if she didn't want to do a pliet, then she wasn't doing one. It was a skill all of the children in the Nasiri family had, at least to some extent. Chanel's mom let it be known that she wasn't anyone's maid, so there were times when the kids didn't have a choice but to help out. "But we had to learn to cook regardless. My mom wasn't going to just do everything," she said with a nostalgic laugh. "I still can't cook as good as her though. My dad's mom is also amazing. Her family's from Louisiana, so that probably speaks for itself." Another skill she was taught as a child, was to keep the kitchen clean. It was so ingrained in her head, and she was so used to it, that she couldn't eat if there were things on the counter. She wasn't such a neat freak that it had to be absolutely spotless, but on most days, she had to at least have the leftovers already in tupperware, so that was what she started doing before she reached for her own plate. "Let me know what you think! I added some Moroccan spices just to make it a bit different."

“I’m only a bite in and it’s already amazing,” Makayla confirmed. She wasn’t surprised that Chanel’s mom was a good cook. Even if it was stereotypical thinking, since she got the sense that Chanel came from a stable and traditional home, it was just something she assumed. Makayla didn’t have that kind of upbringing, so she still sometimes based her opinions of “normal” families off of television shows and movies. The father would be the kind of guy who coached his kid’s soccer team and built the patio in the backyard from scratch, and the mom would be a phenomenal cook who was loving yet stern. She felt like Chanel’s family would fit that mold pretty well, but she only had snippets of stories to go off of. It was easier to think everyone other than yourself lived a perfect life when you weren’t actually living their life.

When there was a knock at the door, Makayla instantly knew it had to be Cara. Just because of that, she wanted to wait and let Chanel answer that, but after cooking this whole meal, she felt rude expecting her to get up to go answer it too. Plus, she knew she needed to beat Holly to the door to avoid her saying something dumb. “I’ll get it,” she volunteered, skipping out of the kitchen and answering the front door. Unsurpringly, and in a fashion that made makayla feel no less awkward than she believed it would, it was Cara. The only option that Makayla has was to pretend that all was well and everything was normal, so she smiled at the girl who had lots of gift bags by her feet and in her hands. “Hey Cara,” she said, offering a small wave as she stepped aside to welcome her in. “Chanel is in the kitchen. Do you need help with all of these?” she said, motioning to the bags.

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Makalya Wright 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: 304 W 14th Street
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #1BB3F5
Makayla was just who Cara did not want to see, but in the moment, she knew that there was nothing she could do now to avoid it. They were standing face to face, and Cara smiled to match Makayla's. Hers was fake, and she wouldn't have been surprised if Makayla's was too, but she was glad that they girl hadn't referenced the unanswered text messages yet. It was something that Cara didn't think needed to be addressed anyway. It wasn't like she was required by law to answer Makayla's texts, and they didn't have a friendship that made her feel socially obligated to either. Morally, she knew that it was rude not to, mostly because Holly was indirectly involved, but Cara was trying to think only about herself. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to last with cutting off her relationship with Makayla, but only because she genuinely liked Holly. Their relationship was clearly a big help to Makayla, who understandably had to struggle to balance work and taking care of Holly, but Cara didn't fully see it as a charity act. She recognized that she was being helpful, and she liked feeling useful like that, but at the same time, Holly had become a friend to her. A weird little friend, sure, but a friend nonetheless. She was full of such positivity and genuineness that it was impossible not to fall in love with her, and Cara truly enjoyed their outings. She wasn't trying to punish Holly by distancing herself from her sister, but she had just convinced herself that she was being taken advantage of and not appreciated as much as she should have been.

"Oh no, it's okay," she insisted, as she managed to push all of the bags inside of the apartment. She left the majority of them by the doorway, however, so if Makayla wanted them all the way inside the apartment, then yeah, Cara probably was going to need some help. "Most of them are for you and Holly, from Collin and I, so you guys can do whatever you want with those. I just wanted to stop by to give this to Chanel, really," she said, nodding to the presents by her feet that were meant for the girls. She wasn't trying to be dismissive or rude by acting like she didn't care about the gifts she had gotten for Makayla and Holly, but she was being honest in saying that they weren't the main reason for why she was coming over. She didn't care, anyway, if it did come out wrong, because again, Makayla could either appreciate the gesture or not, but Cara wasn't going to be bothered by it today. She already had the sense that she was recently ungrateful, so even if she had responded pleasantly, Cara probably would have found a way to construe it into something negative anyway.

Seeing Holly in the living room, and taking Makayla's comment on Chanel being in the kitchen as an invitation inside, she addressed Holly in the most distant, yet still someone warm, way that she could manage. "Hey Holly," she called out, continuing to walk towards the kitchen. "I brought Chanel's Christmas gift over that we got her, if you wanna come give it to her!" She was in the kitchen a second later though, wanting to get this done and over with as quickly as possible. Collin's gift for Chanel was still in the front of the apartment, but Cara wasn't worried about that since she was sure Collin had written Chanel's name on the tag anyway. "Hey girlie," she said, offering Chanel a smile, and appreciating the mouth-watering aroma coming for the kitchen. It momentarily made her doubt her decision to just have a salad tonight, but she got over it once she reminded herself of what she was here. "I come bearing gifts," she said with a small laugh, as she placed two gift bags on the table, being careful to not knock over Makayla's food. "This one's really from Holly," she said, raising her eyebrows as if she was warning Chanel that it might be a bit quirky, before motioning to the other, "And this is from me. Not as cute as the face masks you made me, but hopefully still good enough!" The bag that was supposed to be from Holly contained a bag that Holly had picked out when they stopped in the Chanel store uptown a while ago. Cara hadn't been too fond of it, mostly because of the color, but Holly had insisted on it, simply because it specifically said Chanel on it. Cara wasn't one to argue with that logic, so along with that, she had let Holly pick out an assortment of random things at CVS. Getting a Chanel bag in the same gift bag as chapstick, bacon-shaped bandages, gel pens, Skittles and gum was definitely an odd assortment, but Cara felt like it was a good reflection of Holly. Her own bag contained a bag that she felt Chanel would appreciate more. The fact that she was willing to purchase two designer bags for Chanel, while criticizing Collin for buying her a designer wallet, spoke to the flaws in her thought process in itself, but it wasn't something that Cara would consider. She and Chanel were friends, so it just felt different. Along with that, she had included some La Prairie skin care items that she was fond of, a bottle of champagne, and a cute pair of stemless wine glasses. "I won't keep you while you're eating, but just wanted to drop that off finally!"

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #db0083
"You're going to love it, Chanel!" Holly hadn't had much time to process the knock at the door belonging to Cara, or Cara greeting her, before the blonde had disappeared into the kitchen. Holly had been busy laughing at a joke on SpongeBob when Cara first came in, so that already put her at a disadvantage of being able to respond very quickly, so by the time that she had leapt off of the couch, Cara was already in the kitchen with Chanel. Holly had caught onto what was happening though, just by seeing the pile of gifts that Cara had left by the front door. For the moment, she was less concerned with the potential of any of those being for her, than she was with seeing if Chanel liked the gifts that she and Cara had specifically picked out for her a while back. It felt like forever ago to Holly, which made her excitement even greater in size, since there was suspense associated with it now too. Even though the gifts she had picked out for Chanel with Cara were more valuable price-tag wise, Holly still wasn't necessarily any more excited to give them than she was to give the simpler ones she had given to Chanel earlier, with Makayla. It was just that then, Holly's excitement about that had been combined with the mere excitement of seeing Chanel after so long, so this excitement probably seemed more pronounced.

By the time that she had bolted into the kitchen, Cara had already set the gift bags on the table, but Holly was quick to gravitate towards the bag that she knew contained the ones that she picked out for Chanel. "Wanna open it now, and just stop eating for one second?" she asked, looking across the table at Chanel eagerly, before turning her head towards Cara. "Chanel made food and she's sharing with Makayla, but they don't want me to eat with them because they're gossiping about me!" she claimed, trying to feign shock but laughing instead at her own lie. "It's really important that you open it now," she said, turning back to Chanel, "Because there's a live animal inside of here and it's been stuck in there for weeks and it's probably going to die soon!" Surprisingly, she seemed to have a slight change of heart as she glanced back in the direction of where Makayla was. "But if you're really hungry, I guess we can wait! I'll be really upset and I won't be able to eat because I'll be too busy thinking about it, but that's okay if that's what you want to do!" she insisted, barely sounding peppy as it was clear that her heart wasn't where her words were.

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Hex Code: #c7256e
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"They'll be perfect!" Chanel said in response to Cara's hoping the gifts were still good enough. She knew Cara was just being polite, but if anything, Chanel would have been the one worried about her gifts being worthy for her friend. It would have been virtually impossible to get the kind of gift she pictured Cara liking, so she had decided there was no point in trying. She didn't take her friend for being tacky enough to have a price minimum on a gift, so she decided to have fun with it and do something that she thought was sweet.

It was well within Chanel's character to extend an invitation to Cara to help herself to the food she was packing up. While Chanel could be a bit oblivious at times, she was still aware of her slip up from minutes before, so she wasn't trying to make the situation any more awkward by prolonging conversation. Cara's subtle closure was welcomed, then, and Chanel had been close to thanking her and saying bye before Holly came over telling her to open her gifts. "Live animal?" Chanel looked towards Cara though, managing to chuckle but not without some very obvious confusion and concern. She didn't want to seem rude, and she doubted Cara would take it that way since the girl seemed to be on the way out too, but Chanel didn't intend on opening right then and there, simply because she was doing the dishes. Normally, she would have finished what she was doing while maintaining some sort of conversation, but she didn't want to elongate what was a potentially awkward situation for the other two girls. Cara wasn't hovering as though she was waiting for Chanel to open her gifts right that moment, and Chanel already knew Makayla wasn't eager for Cara to stay either. Even when Chanel told Cara she could come over, she hadn't anticipated a total sit down and chat. Had Chanel had anytime to go to her bedroom to find the little card for Cara, it would have been as simple as a swap at the door and a few sweet words. So really, her only concern was Holly.

"Thanks you two," Chanel said, trying to talk over the clanking of the dishes hitting each other and the sink. "I was just going to finish this up first." Chanel didn't feel any rush to open her gifts in that moment either, just because she knew they weren't going anywhere, but she could understand Holly's excitement. Or at least she could understand Holly just being excited about something. "Holly, you can open it for me if you want." Turning back to Cara, she said. "Oh, I didn't get to look for the thing, so I can just text you later about it."

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Jetta Babin
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C A R A - F O R R E S T E R

Location: 304 W 14th Street
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #1BB3F5
As Holly rushed in, it became clear that this was going to be more of an event that Cara intended for it to be. Her original goal was to get in and out. She wanted to give Chanel her gift to make things even, and to get it out of the way. She knew that there was a potential that she would see Makayla and Holly, and that she would start to feel guilty about trying to cut things off with them for a little while. She didn't, however, intend on staying to watch anyone open up the gifts. Even though she was very confident that the gifts for everyone there were nice (excluding Collin's), she disliked watching people open up gifts from her. It was always an uncomfortable thing, and maybe that was even more true for her because she struggled to pretend to like gifts that people got her, even if they were sitting right there. She knew that it was polite to pretend to like gifts that she felt were dumb or ugly, and she genuinely did try, but in most of those situations, her expression usually spoke more clearly and truthfully than her forced words did. Given that, her expression too, probably showed that she felt unnecessarily uncomfortable at the moment. She was used to Holly, and even if she was turned off by Makayla right now, she still loved Holly. Even still, though, right now, she just wanted to leave. In her defense, it was mostly because she knew that she would start to feel bad if she was reminded of Holly's sweetness for too long, but still, she didn't want to give herself a chance to doubt her own behavior.

"No problem!" she insisted to Chanel, waving a hand to dismiss any concerns associated with not having the card. Mentally, she rolled her eyes because Chanel had used that as a reason for her to come over, so it seemed odd that she hadn't even been able to come up with that, but Cara knew it was a petty thing to feel bothered over. Partly because Chanel probably had given her the card in the first place, partly because she would have wanted to bring these gifts over at some point anyway, and then also because it was just a dumb thing to be annoyed about anyway. Chanel was clearly busy, and if doing the dishes wasn't excusable enough in itself, then socializing with Holly was, and Cara knew that from her own experience. "I'm actually in a rush anyway, so I'll catch up with you guys later!" she insisted. Having said that she was interested in putting on a face mask probably gave away that she wasn't actually in a rush to go anywhere real, but she was in a rush to get out of there... Purposely giving little to no time for any objections, she escorted herself out of the apartment. She nearly bumped into an unfamiliar girl as she hurried towards her own apartment, mumbling an, "Excuse me," in doing so. When she spotted Roman in his doorway, not far from where the girl looked to be retreating from, she rolled her eyes, but a smirk fell onto her face as she looked at him. She didn't know that Nick and Brooklyn were sitting inside, and she didn't know that the girl had only been there accidentally. Since she had been meaning to come over to Roman's anyway to get her clutch, this seemed like as good of an opportunity as ever. "She doesn't look too happy," Cara said, referencing Jetta, despite her being just a few feet away. "Looks like I might have been more drunk than I thought I was, because I didn't think you were that bad last week," she teased, acting as if Jetta must have been leaving Roman's after having sex with him.

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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#, as written by Bandit
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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #db0083

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M a k a y l a ~ W r i g h t
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: Here
Holly wanted to open up the gifts for Chanel, because even if she knew what was in one of the bags, unwrapping things was half of the fun in getting gifts. She knew better, though. If Makayla walked in on her opening a gift that wasn't intended for her, even with Chanel's agreement, she knew that she wouldn't hear the end of it. Her fingers toyed at the strings of the bag for a few seconds as she contemplated whether to just do it and argue with Makayla that she had been given permission to open it, or to do what she knew was right and just be patient and wait for Chanel to open them on her own, later on. Midway through that thought, she remembered that even if Chanel didn't want to open up her gift, there was someone else she could watch open gifts! Cara! Her gift bag was still sitting in their bedroom, and Holly remembered exactly where it was, since she had seen it when getting Chanel's a few minutes ago. In the spur of excitement, she didn't even think to answer Chanel or explain where she was going as she darted off towards her bedroom. Finding Makayla inside, she announced, "I need Cara's gift!" with urgency.

Makayla had returned to her bedroom after letting Cara in, with the same purpose as Holly seemed to have now. Unlike her sister, though, Makayla wasn't in any rush to return back out there. Cara had acted pleasantly and normally in their minimal interaction by the door, but the mere fact that she didn't address the unanswered texts bothered Makayla. On one hand, she would have felt awkward had she brought it up, but she still felt awkward now, and now, she still didn't know what the deal was. She wondered if somehow, maybe Cara didn't get the messages. Makayla's phone was old... but they all said "delivered", and she had texted other people throughout the past few weeks and those had all been received as normal. It was annoying to not know what someone was feeling towards you, especially in a relationship like hers with Cara, where they weren't close enough for her to explicitly ask. So, she lingered in her bedroom after bringing the gifts that Cara had brought over inside. She didn't realize that one of the bags was for Chanel, from Collin because she hadn't even looked at the tags on them. She was trying to figure out what to do, where to go, what to say... but instead, she found herself sitting on the edge of her bed, staring blankly at the wall, until Holly burst into the room. "Here it is," she said, reaching beside her feet and picking the small gift bag up off of the floor. Compared to the unnecessary amount of things that Cara had brought in, her gift now seemed even more lackluster, making Makayla feel all the more compelled to stay in her room a little bit longer. "Make sure you thank her for bringing all of this over," she said, motioning to the other bags on the floor that she had just carried in.

"Mhmm!" Holly answered, clearly distracted as she dashed back towards the door, then with Cara's gift in hand. Before she could leave, though, one of the gift bags that Makayla had pointed to caught her eye. She spun back around and crouched over to look at it. It was a Christmas gift bag covered in festive dog drawings, and without fail, it had Holly laughing as she studied it. "I bet this one is for me!" she insisted, before opening up the tag on the gifts handles to find her name, as suspected. "Look how funny this one is!" she continued, pointing to the Pug. "He's wearing reindeer antlers!" Pointing to a different dog, she laughed again, [color=#db0083]"And this one's balancing an ornament on his nose!" She turned around to face Makayla abruptly, then. "What if Cara got us a dog?!" she asked with sheer excitement.

"You know she didn't get you a dog, and you know why we can't have a dog," Makayla answered, looking to Holly tiredly, though with no annoyance, despite having this conversation a thousand times. "We're not allowed to have pets in the building, remember?" She was tempted to remind Holly, too, that she could barely take care of herself, so throwing a dog into the mix didn't seem like a good idea in itself, but she bit her tongue. She knew Holly would argue that, and she also knew that Holly would actually probably put more effort into learning how to take care of a dog than herself anyway.

Holly knew that was true, but it didn't stop her from still thinking that Cara might have gotten her a dog. With Holly's heightened opinion on Cara, it wouldn't have been beyond her to think that Cara might have gotten her a dog, and then a new house to live in, as an accessory to go with the dog. She didn't vocalize that though, and instead, reminded herself of the excitement she had been feeling about giving Cara her gift. Without another word to Makayla, she was hurrying out of the bedroom, but by the time she got to the kitchen, Cara was no longer in sight. "Chanel! Did Cara leave?!" she questioned with urgency. "I still didn't get to give her our gift!" she exclaimed in distress, though she perked herself up fairly quickly as she informed Chanel of something else. "But she did bring gifts for me too. We got you a bag that says your name on it, so maybe she found one that says my name on it too!" she continued, becoming more excited with each word. As she turned her head to call back down the hallway to Makayla, her sister appeared.

Makayla had followed Holly out of the bedroom, a few steps behind, because she felt like it would have been odd for her to be off hiding in her bedroom. Luck was on her side anyway, though, because by the time they got back to the kitchen, Cara was gone. She looked at Chanel momentarily, tempted to ask her if things had seemed normal, but knowing better than to do so with Holly there. "Why don't you go finish eating, and then we can see what she got you?" she said to Holly. "And we'll drop her gift off to her later, maybe, now that we know she's home," she added, reaching out to take that gift bag from her sister. Even though she was relieved that Cara was gone now, it was annoying that she still hadn't been able to get rid of this gift. She hadn't picked up to Holly's reference that Chanel had gotten a Chanel bag, or else she would have been eyeing Chanel to actually open it that second, just to see if Cara had actually done that.

"I think I should open them now, while I eat, in case it's a dog or something!" Holly argued, though still in an upbeat way. Looking at Makayla's face, though, she decided that she could wait... even if waiting would feel agonizing. She only had a piece of toast to eat, so she knew that it wouldn't take too long. "Or I guess I can wait..." she said, adding in a dramatic sigh for the effects. She looked to Chanel before returning to the living room, only to say, "Make sure you tell Cara we're gonna come over later to give her her gift!"

With Holly and Cara gone, Makayla gladly returned to her plate. "You know she got you some bougie stuff," she said to Chanel, with a playful smirk, as she eyed the bags that were on the table. Makayla liked Chanel and found her to be pretty cool and down to earth, but she also knew that Chanel could fit in with Cara's type if she wanted to, so she assumed that whatever was in the bag would be more surprising to her, than it would be to Chanel.

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Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Outfit: This
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M a k a y l a ~ W r i g h t
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: Here
As Chanel expected, Cara seemed to be in a rush. She wasn't offended her anything, but she had the slightly inkling of a feeling that the girl wasn't really trying to stay for conversation. She was surprised she was able to dodge fast paced Holly so quickly, so for that, she was impressed. Chanel also didn't pick up on Holly indicating that there was a Chanel bag in her gift bag. Even with Cara not here, she still felt slightly uncomfortable opening the gifts since Makayla had just talked about it seeming like Cara was ghosting her. Cara did end up bringing gifts for them as well, so maybe it was a Chanel predicted, and everything was fine. Still, she was hoping their gifts were about the same in quality. "Um, you too!" Chanel looked over her shoulder as she finished the final dishes, setting a plate aside for her own food. "Seemed like you guys had some nice stuff too."

After finishing the dishes and making a plate for herself, she brought her presents over to where Makayla was sitting. Chanel decided to open Holly's first, since the girl seemed so excited. Upon seeing the purse, it finally sunk in exactly what Holly meant. Chanel was thinking it would be a customized tote at best--definitely not an actual Chanel bag. Her eyes said everything her mouth didn't as she was shocked and perplexed. "Oh wow, Holly. It does say my name on it. This is so cool!" In the moment, it escaped her that the girl had mentioned there being something actually in the bag, so she placed the purse back inside, simply to keep the countertop clear. It was still a nice purse, and she didn't want to test her luck eating right next to it, because know her, she'd end up spilling Paella on it. Placing it out of the way, she glanced towards Makayla with a look that could be translated as I'm not crazy, right? Surprisingly, revealing Cara's gift left Chanel even more dumbfounded. It would seem that Holly's present would act as some sort of buffer, but Chanel had really been thinking that Cara wouldn't get her two things from Chanel. It was a nice purse, and she was slightly annoyed only because she felt inclined (and conflicted) to give it back, but not really wanting to because she definitely had an outfit for this. "Okay, well." Chanel held up her finger to Makayla, moving the gifts to the side, because she was thinking about how Makayla had basically predicted this. Chanel had no idea that Cara had criticized Collin doing basically the exact same thing she just didn't, so she understandably figured Collin's gift had remained unchanged. "You also got some bougie stuff. Collin showed me what he got you and I told him to return it. Not because you wouldn't shut down the city in a sexy thousand dollar purse," she made sure to disclaim. She wanted Makayla to open her gifts as well, just so they could reel in the mixture of discomfort and greed together. On the one hand, Chanel just couldn't accept a gift like this. And it wasn't just because Cara was significantly wealthier than her; she couldn't accept this from any of her friends--it just crossed the threshold. But at the same time, she convinced herself that she deserved an expensive purse and it was the perfect start to the New Year. Because it wasn't even that she was morally above accepted gifts she had no business accepting. If Cara was some guy from work who'd been crushing on her, Chanel wouldn't think twice of exploiting that. "It's just...a lot. Ugh, but now I feel like an ungrateful piece of shh...baloney," she corrected, not wanting to launch into a full swear festival when Holly wasn't too far away. She nudged Makayla with one hand, shoveling a fork full of food into her mouth with the other. "Go open yours. C'mon."

Makayla wouldn't have been surprised if Cara had gifted her something bougie as well, but she didn't think that Cara had actually gotten her anything to begin with. It was a weird thought, given that Holly had referenced some gift that they had picked out for her, and because Cara had said she had brought over gifts for herself and Holly. It was just instinctive for Makayla to assume that meant Holly only, and that the thought was that she benefited from seeing Holly happy. Which she did. No one could deny that Makayla was quite mature for her age, and aside from simply enjoying seeing Holly happy, it was also nice knowing that Holly could have and experience things and little treats when it wasn't in her own budget to give it to her. Growing up, her father had always made sure she had some things to open up on her birthday and Christmas, but since moving out, she had grown used to not getting gifts, so she would never expect them from anyone. Even the one that Chanel had gotten her had been unexpected, though appreciated.

Her eyes widened with surprise when she saw what Chanel pulled out of the two bags. Chanel bags?! Was Cara out of her mind? She wasn't; she was just rich, but that wasn't something Makayla could remind herself of in that moment. It was hard to think that anyone could be that rich, where they could spend thousands of dollars on bags without a second thought. Makayla's first thought was more reflective of her own life, as she wondered if they were real or not, but then she reminded herself that this was Cara. Buying, or even possessing, a fake bag probably seemed criminal to her. There was no doubt in Makayla's mind, then, that these were real, and though the mouth full of food played a role in it too, she was speechless. Though Chanel seemed surprised as well, Makayla felt that her reaction was pretty tame to just being gifted what she assumed was thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. Once she finished chewing, she shook her head, a look of bewilderment still spread across her face. "Girl, she just spent six months worth of rent on you! She out here acting like she wants you to have her children or something, shit!"[/color] she exclaimed, knowing that her numbers were probably off, but not to an extent where the difference would be that dramatic given how dramatic the accurate cost was in itself. "I feel like I need to smack Holly for being involved in this, but yasssss girl, good for you! You better either use the hell out of those, or drop one of them off at a pawn shop and make some money off of it." The one that Holly had apparently picked out was still nice (what Chanel bag wasn't), but was less Makayla's type, so if she had to vote on one for Chanel to pawn off, it was definitely going to be that one. "Maybe I should see what she got us before Holly sees," she said, quieter then, though with the TV running, she doubted Holly would hear her anyway. "You know damn well what I'm going to do if there's a Burberry jacket or something in there," she said with a laugh, before filling her mouth with another forkful of food.

Makayla's reaction was certainly more appropriate. Simply because Chanel felt put on the spot, and didn't want to seem rude, even if they weren't from Makayla, she had oddly opted for a less vocal protest. It was nice and validating, then, hearing Makayla's bewilderment as well. "I swear to God," she said, not sounding as angry as her words would imply. "If he seriously gave you the same gift after I told him not to. He was--" She glanced back into the living room, deciding she would continue once they were out of Holly's proximity. In the hallway, she continued. "I saw him on Christmas to drop off Cara's gift," she began.[color=#c7256e] "And he had gifts for both of us, to apologize for the whole weed thing. And it was literally from Barney's. I think I hurt his feelings when I said it wasn't the best gift because he low key gave me a bit of attitude, so it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't change his mind. See if he re-gifted my wallet to you. That was actually classy as hell. I could probably peruse The Upper East Side and find a lonely divorcee with that thing."

"And you know I wouldn't judge you for that for a second," Makayla laughed, as she pushed open the door to her bedroom. The cluster of gift bags were still sitting on the floor in between her bed and Holly's, where she had left them. As she expected, the majority of the bags were Holly's, but she was surprised to find two that had her name on them, and one that had Chanel's on it. "Ooh, my bad, this one's for you,"[/color] she said, sitting on the edge of one of the beds and pushing it towards Chanel. Because Collin hadn't been there himself, she didn't think that it could have been from him, so she wasn't eager to see if it was the wallet Chanel had just spoken about. The weed incident had been weird and annoying, but it wasn't something that Makayla felt warranted a physical gift. If Collin had gotten her something, like Chanel claimed he had intended to do, then Makayla would feel compelled to get him something... or more accurately, would feel guilty about not being able to get him something, because with her finances right now, no amount of guilt in the world would convince her to spend money on someone she barely knew. "I will deadass start crying if it's a third Chanel bag in there," she added playfully, as she reached through the tissue paper in one of the bags that was meant for her. Inside, she found a bottle of wine, a candle/soap gift set, and some skincare products. Makayla wasn't knowledgeable about the brand, Sisley Paris, but knowing Cara, it had to be a good brand. Apparently, though, as she opened the greeting card that had a generic "Merry Christmas" message in it, she found that the bag was from Collin, and not Cara, after all. "You know what, I think I'll take a bottle of wine after my day today, over a thousand dollar wallet," she said with a sincere chuckle as she held up the wine bottle. There was no way that bottle wouldn't be empty, in the recycling bin down the hall, in twenty-four hours from now. "And you know about these kind of things," she continued, sprawling the skincare products out on the bed, though she picked up one to read the label. "Sisley Paris. Is that a good brand? What'd he get you?"

"I think my aunt uses them. Some of their stuff is like $200, so it must be good! Collin's up here upstaging me and my skincare gifts." Chanel wanted to make the comment that Collin was nothing if unoriginal, but she knew it was a bit too biting for it to seem as much of a joke as it was. With the way Collin was, she doubted he would appreciate the quip either, therefore she held her tongue on it and decided the world would have to be plagued without her obviously underappreciated comedy. Chanel felt even less inclined to make a biting remark about Collin, even if in good faith, when Makayla mentioned there was something for her from him. It confused her, and for a minute, angered her since she had specifically told him no, but it turned out to be not only something totally different, but also something right up her alley. She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes. "Oddly reasonable. Now I'm confused. Or maybe I'm just a jaded, ungrateful bitch." Chanel sat down on Makayla's bed, slumping her arms between her legs. "How do you go from an expensive wallet as an apology gift for something so trivial to something so... Oh my god, I love this mask! It is so good on my pores. My brothers steal it from me all the time. Hmm, I'm tempted to text him and ask him what's up. I should tell him I already told you he was getting you Barney's and he needs to come up with it. I would give it to my mom. She'd love it. And I'd be the favorite," she giggled, clearly not being serious.

Even if the specific products that she had received weren't the $200 ones, if the same line carried ones for $200, Makayla knew it was an expensive brand, at least by her standards. She wasn't super into skincare (mostly because she couldn't afford brands like this), but she was consistent in using cocoa butter, tea tree oil, and generic but quality brands on her skin, so she appreciated the gift nonetheless. It looked like he had done something similar for Chanel, and that brand, Origins, was more familiar to her, though she still didn't have any experience with the products like Chanel seemed to have. "You better not," Makayla warned, laughing though. She would kill Chanel for putting her into that sort of awkward situation, especially since aside from that weird incident at Disney, Collin seemed like a nice enough boy to feel guilty and actually show up with something ridiculously expensive to compensate. "If it's something you like, I'm sure Cara helped him pick it out though," she offered. "Especially given what you said, he definitely seems to fit the 'dumb boy' category," she laughed. There were still a fair amount of gift bags on the floor, and though she still had one sitting beside her with her own name on it, from Cara, she was concerned with the amount that Cara had brought over for Holly. If she had been willing to spend thousands on Chanel, Makayla could already feel the uncomfortable-ness growing within her at the thought of what might have been spent on Holly. "I swear, if there's more than like... stuffed animals... in all of these, I'm gonna feel like a huge asshole for the damn mug I got her in return," she said, gently knocking her foot against one of the bags. "You think I should open them up and insist she take them back if it's some crazy shit like she got you? Before Holly sees it, you know?"

"Go for it. Better to prevent heartbreak than to rip the bandaid."

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"True. I guess I'll open mine first," she said, looking away from the gifts intended for Holly and placing her own gift bag onto her lap. Makayla doubted that there was anything quite like what Chanel had received in her bag. To start, it was obvious that there wasn't any name-link between her name and an expensive bag, so that removed the chance of Holly forcing Cara to buy a ridiculously expensive thing for that reason. Secondly, though, Makayla was now pretty convinced that Cara didn't really like her. She wouldn't have been surprised if her bag had items from a 99 cent store in it, just out of spite. That was Makayla's petty and more critical side talking, because in reality, she would have felt a lot better receiving those things than anything pricey. It would have made her feel like less of an ass for the lackluster gift she was going to give Cara, which was all she could afford. As she unwrapped the items in the bag, she found that they fell somewhere between the two extremes. Everything inside was nice, and Makayla was sure that they were purchased at trendy or high-end stores. The blanket, especially, looked pretty high quality, and while the mug, book, and plates clearly had Holly written all over them, they definitely couldn't have been cheap. At the same time, they weren't Chanel-bag level expensive, which was reassuring. This was actually a gift that Makayla felt somewhat comfortable accepting, even if it surely cost more than the mug and gift card they had gotten for Cara. At the bottom of the bag, though, she found an envelope. Expecting it to just be a Christmas card, she slid her finger underneath the flap of the paper to tear it open. Inside, she found a card written in handwriting that she easily distinguished as being Holly's. It read:

Dear Makayla,

Hi Makayla! Merry Christmas! Me and Cara picked these things out just for you. You're always cold so there's a blanket to keep you warm. And I can use it when I'm watching TV! And there's a mug since you love to drink tea. It's a little hedgehog and it's so cute! I don't know if you like hedgehogs or if you've ever seen one in real life, because I haven't and I thought it was a porcupine at first. I haven't seen one of those in real life either but I know what they are but your mug isn't pointy like porcupines are, and Cara said the tag on it said hedgehog so that's what it is and hopefully you like it. And then when we were in this other store in Chelsea Market and we saw those dog plates and I was going to get you one, but Cara said it would be better to get the whole set! They're supposed to be for dessert, that's why they're called dessert plates, but Cara said grilled cheeses will be good on them too! And then your favorite part of the present is the dog book, right? There are so many different dogs in there, and just so you know, one of them is named Pretzel!!! Okay, Merry Christmas! I love you so much!

Love,
Holly


Somehow, Makayla managed to finish reading the sweet card before her eyes widened at the gift card that had fallen out of it. She fiddled it between her fingers as she read the number printed on it. $500. $500 and Cara hadn't even signed her damn name to the card. It was generous. More than generous, actually, and it was hard to act like Cara had some secret motive behind being so generous, other than to simply be nice. Makayla could quickly tell herself that she was probably trying to flaunt her wealth, or that she was giving her this as an act of pity, and though it was possible, she also felt like that wasn't the motive. It made her feel bad for thinking poorly of Cara minutes ago. Sure, it was embarrassing when someone knew that you needed money more than a Chanel bag or something "fun", but Makayla was trying to be positive in interpreting this as Cara actually being kind and thoughtful. "She did not just give me $500," she said, after a silent pause, as she tossed the gift card at Chanel for verification. "I have to give it back, right? I can't take $500 from her." She didn't feel like it was appropriate to do so, after everything Cara had done for her in the past, but that didn't mean she didn't want to. $500 could buy a strap on one of Chanel's new Chanel bags, but it could and would go a long way for Makayla. Again, though, her incessant need to not feel like she owed people anything reflected the lack of socialization she had had in recent years. She couldn't feel okay with the practice of gift giving unless she felt like it was going to be an even exchange. Otherwise, she felt like the relationship would end up being directly skewed because of it, and it was an uncomfortable feeling for her, since she knew that she would always be on the lesser end of things."But I guess she won't take it back, right? And you're gonna keep the bags. I mean, she wouldn't have given it to me if she didn't intend for me to keep it, but I always just feel so fucking weird taking shit from people that I can't repay, y'know? Especially when I still don't know if she even wants to fuck with me like that."

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Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri
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"Pft," Chanel snorted at Makayla insisted she couldn't accept the gift card. "I can." While she liked the purses, despite feeling very conflicted over them, $500 was definitely far more useful. Between her and Makayla, though, it was about as useless as the purse though because Chanel wasn't even thinking about how it could help her financially. She was just thinking about the multitude of things she could buy with the money, versus just having two things. Chanel shook her head slightly. No, Cara definitely wouldn't accept it back. "Honestly, I'd rather take money from people I don't fuck with than people I do. Sounds like a great symbiotic relationship." She wasn't sure if that was the correct word, but it was what immediately came to her head at the moment.

"I don't want to not fuck with her though," Makayla began. "Like as much as we're different, I can't act like she hasn't been a bless--" She stopped midway as Holly's voice rang out, and it probably wasn't fair that an instinctive eye roll came to be at the sound, but it was there and present. It wasn't really there out of her desire to be mean, but more so a response to Holly interrupting a conversation and interaction that Makayla was actually enjoying being a part of. She looked at Chanel in a way that could only be described as apologetic, as Holly entered the bedroom and didn't give anyone a second to talk until she had jumped across a spectrum of conversation topics all in one breath. A normal person probably wouldn't know where to start in responding to that, but Makayla was so used to this that she knew that there was no use in responding to half of it. By now, Holly had probably forgotten that she had said most of it, and Makayla was more concerned with this bothering Chanel. "Holly, you're giving everyone a headache," she said, maintaining her typically calm demeanor, but looking at her sister with mild annoyance. She was normally even softer with Holly, but especially after hearing that she had just helped herself to Chanel's chocolate, she didn't have it in her to be nicer. "Sit here and open up your gifts, and then write a thank you note to Cara for all of it. Make sure you list everything, so she knows you like it all," she said, knowing that that might kill some time for her and Chanel to finish their meal, and conversation, in peace.

Chanel had momentarily forgotten about the food sitting out, and just as soon, her stomach sent her an extra reminder. Back at the table, her appetite resumed, and she was glad to (hopefully) be able to sit down and enjoy the meal. She hoped Holly didn't eat too many chocolates, because she was looking forward to eating some. She couldn't deny that it was a bit annoying, just because no one liked their food being touched, let alone consumed, without permission. Had it been just anything else, she probably would have cared less, but they were special chocolates she was looking forward to. That being said, she wasn't going to go scolding Holly for it or anything. Instead, she would focus on the food in front of her. "Take...two? Three?" she said, trying to remember the number of times she'd tried eating.

"I really don't know why you continue to live with us," Makayla said, laughing quietly as she stirred her fork in her food. She wasn't saying it in a self-pity way, where she wanted Chanel to reassure her that they were model roommates, because she knew that they weren't, and someone lying to her wouldn't make her feel better. She just genuinely felt bad sometimes, because in her eyes, Chanel was a very normal and cool girl, and she didn't deserve to be subjected to the very non-traditional situation that she and Holly had. Maybe they were more bothersome in her own eyes than they were in other people's, but it probably also reflected Makayla's own subconscious, and how sometimes she wished that she could distance herself from her own life and situation as easily as other people could. "I've gotta go pick up her new prescription for Adderall in a little, I think they said it'd be ready by seven, so I promise, or at least hope, that in a few weeks, you'll notice a difference and won't regret re-signing the lease with us." She was going to return to their conversation about Cara, but that had her thinking about how her relationship with Cara was still off, which led to more apologizing. "And since Cara's been... busy lately, I've been having to leave Holly home more alone when I'm working, and it hasn't been a problem yet, mostly because she was sick last week so I could get away with doping her up on Nyquil so that she was asleep and not bothering anyone, but I swear that I want you to tell me if she bothers you when I'm not here. I know you're out a lot anyway, and I'll make sure she knows that she better not, but I'll feel a lot worse if you pretend she doesn't do anything when she really is, than if you just tell me, because I know how she gets and I'm not sitting here trying to push that on you." It was a lot at once, and Makayla realized that, and felt bad even just for venting like that while they were trying to enjoy a meal, but it seemed like the only good time to bring something like that up. She had felt anxious about it for the past few weeks, so she wanted to address it before it actually happened.

Chanel appreciated Makayla's words, evident by the faint smirk on her lips. It wasn't meant to be mocking or an indication that she was uncomfortable. She truly did appreciate her words, and perhaps a bit conversely, whenever she heard Makayla say something similar, Chanel felt a need to be more patient and understanding. It was an unintended consequences that Chanel would sometimes just assume that she had come across as frosty to the girls, because otherwise, she couldn't think of why Makayla would still worry about Chanel being so uncomfortable. Sure, it definitely wasn't the situation she envisioned, but that was in the past, and it wasn't a big enough deal to where she felt like she needed to move out. There were times where she wished she had a set up similar to her friends, but she could afford the rent here (barely), she actually didn't mind the people (mostly), and this was oddly feeling like home. Slowly, but surely. The dysfunction was a bit welcomed, even at times like now where she wished Holly knew not to eat her things. "Makayla," Chanel said softly, her voice smooth, but her face telling that she was trying not to chuckle. She wasn't laughing at the girl so much as she was humored by her sincerity. A glance over, and she retained her initial response. Instead of telling her that she had nothing to worry about and that she doubted anything like that would ever arise, she simply nodded. "I'll let you know if anything comes up. Besides, if you guys really bothered me, you wouldn't be either my paella," she said, winking at the girl.

Makayla smiled, though it was more in appreciation than from her actually feeling much better. "Please do," she nodded, ready to bring a forkful of food to her mouth, but suddenly feeling compelled to continue. Though she tended to be quiet, sometimes merely out of anxiety, she found herself speaking more than she intended to. "I'm supposed to take a few classes this semester, but I'll probably end up dropping out before they start because it'll probably just be too much with everything, you know?" Between having to work to support herself, and being around to take care of Holly, Makayla already felt like she had no free time on her hands. She wasn't sure how she was going to fit school into the mix too, even if she had only registered for six credits. "All I know is that if there's something I can buy with that gift card to get Cara back to fucking with us, then as her friend, you better let me know," she concluded, smiling then in a way that was more relaxed than before. "She didn't say anything weird?"

Chanel shook her head quietly, not just because it was that simple of an answer, but because she had food in her mouth. Makayla was definitely a quiet person, and for someone who wasn't that great at perceiving social boundaries, Chanel was aware enough about it to not push things with the girl. She was glad to see her open up more over the years, but that didn't mean her chatter right now was expected or ordinary. In any typical situatin, Chanel would have loved this and responded just as gleefully, but she was focused on the food on her plate. Again, she forked another scoop, holding her finger up with an apologetic smile. "She didn't say anything weird. She didn't really say anything at all. She just kind of dropped off the gifts and left." Chanel thought back to Makayla's previous comments about school, and her heart truly got heavy for a moment. She tried to not let it show on her face, but just the sound of it seemed like a lot. Yet here she was, taking an unexpected semester off, and mostly dreading going back this month. She was also quite nervous about starting again, because even though it was just one gap semester, it felt like an eternity. She'd gotten comfortable with the level of discomfort the past six months. It would be weird to add in this extra responsibility, and quite frankly, she was afraid of defaulting back to where she was the last time she was in school. "Could you just try one class perhaps?" she asked after a long, oddly thoughtful class. "You're such a go-getter, though, I bet you could do it. And if I'm ever here with Holly, I'll make sure she doesn't run out of the apartment or set the kitchen on fire. Maybe there are even morning classes you can take? Or online ones?"

"I'm actually in my last semester technically. Before I had to start officially taking care of her," she began, referencing Holly, "And when I had someone else paying my rent," she continued with a half-smile, "I was getting my associate's in dental hygiene. I was in my third semester, and somehow managed to finish that without failing when I had to start with all of this." "All of this" was the easiest and broadest way to explain what she meant, because "all of this" wasn't just taking care of Holly. It meant having to grow up faster than she had to even before, and everything that came with that. "But I have one semester left, and the majority of it is clinical stuff, so there's barely any leeway on when I can do it, you know? And to fuck me over even more, the only reason why I'm going back to it now, is that I got something in the mail a few weeks ago about how if I don't finish the program within six years, I'd have to start all over, because of some rule with the licensing process, so basically I have no choice but to finish it by this summer. They're letting me do part-time spring and part-time summer, which apparently is them bending the rules in itself, so I guess I should be grateful. I can thank God, at least, that somehow, I got enough aid to cover my tuition, because they're over here telling me I need to spend $150 on a specific school approved scrubs set, and that in the spring I'll have to sign up for the licensing exam that costs damn near close to a grand. Got me ready to sell my eggs or my kidney or some shit," she admitted with a laugh, with the former being something she had actually considered. Shaking her head, mostly in annoyance with herself for talking so much in an uncharacteristic way, she stood up, taking another bite of food mid-stand, and signaling to Chanel with a finger that she would be back in a second.

She slipped down the hallway and into her room, pleased to see that Holly was still where she left her, but not paying much mind to the gifts unwrapped on the floor because she wasn't sure that she wanted to process what they were, and she definitely didn't want Holly to get distracted from something that was keeping her quiet and busy. She simply grabbed the bottle of wine that Collin had gifted her from the bed, and carried it into the kitchen. "Since I'm eating your food, we're opening my wine," she said, only then glancing at the label. She didn't recognize it, but she assumed it had to be decent since it came from a Forrester, and as someone who wasn't a stranger from downing a five dollar bottle on her own, in one night, Makayla was sure it would taste fine to her. Fishing two glasses out of the cabinet, she poured one for herself and one for Chanel, before carrying them back to the table. Sitting down, she returned to the conversation they had been having a minute ago. "You didn't finish school, right?" she asked, being pretty sure that Chanel hadn't been going this past semester, but unsure of the reason for that. "You were going for communications?" she followed up, clearly unsure.

"Well, I haven't graduated yet," Chanel said. She hadn't dropped out or anything, and while she wasn't enrolled last semester, she was still intent on finishing her degree. When she would be finishing said degree was another question, especially since it was beginning to seem like the longer she was in school, the less she knew what she wanted to do with her life. She was horrified last spring because she was so close to just dropping out. It would have seemed easier to just change her major instead of doing something so dramatic, so her compromise was taking some time off. She'd gotten hell for it from her parents, who told her she needed to just keep pushing through and that college was meant to be tough. It was nearly impossible to vouch for yourself when you couldn't be completely transparent with someone. She couldn't say that she was already essentially exploiting herself just so she wouldn't have to ask them for so much, or that she wasn't just struggling with school, she was struggling with life in general and school wasn't helping the fact. Plus, she just didn't care enough about her education to push through it, as terrible as it sounded. Her advisor had kept her from making a rash decision, and in retrospect, she was definitely grateful for that. However, that didn't mean she wasn't still nervous that going back to school this semester would prove that the time off didn't help at all. She would have wasted her time just to end up right back at square one. Even if she had been putting some money aside for her studies, it still felt like she was behind.

She couldn't help but laugh at Makayla thinking her degree was in Communications. It wasn't a far shot, since even her family members constantly thought she was Communications despite her reminding them time and time again that she wasn't. She liked talking to people, so it made sense why someone like her would be Communications, but she wasn't going to spend money just to learn what she felt she was already good at. It definitely wasn't that straightforward, but it was Chanel's reasoning, plus it just wasn't her interest. "No, I'm actually graphic design. Everyone thinks I'm a Comm major though. I guess we're both on the unexpected route because I didn't see you being into dental hygiene. That's really cool though. My brother was going to go to Duke for that. Or maybe it was something else." Realizing she'd lost her train of thought and hadn't entirely answered Makayla's question, she backtracked some. "I just took a break Fall semester. It was just a lot, you know? And I wanted to try just working so I could save up some money and not be such a money vulture to my parents." Her tone had slightly shifted from playful to annoyed, if not the least bit sinister. It was really just her own frustration with where she was in life spilling out, but she put on a smile to distract herself. She was going to be happy this year, she told herself, and so far, she had plenty of reason to be. Makayla, for instance, being so talkative, despite the girl herself not enjoying her more open nature as much as Chanel was, was a clear indicator that Chanel had much to look forward to in the New Year. She couldn't tell that Makayla was being more talkative out of nerves and randomness, but she also didn't care. She knew Makayla was typically quiet, so even if it was out of character for her, Chanel didn't find it so weird that she was becoming suspicious. She nodded to Makayla's glass. "It's your wine. You try it first!"

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Character Portrait: Collin Forrester Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri
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Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: This
Makayla was half a second away from lifting her glass to try it anyway, so when Chanel pushed for it, she happily took a sip. It was good, but as noted, any wine tasted good to Makayla when she knew that it was going to help her relax. Granted, she could distinguish that this wine was a lot smoother than the stuff she would normally pick up for herself, but she wasn't about to go listing the different aromas and tastes from it. It was wine, and it was hopefully going to give her a buzz, that was as descriptive as she was going to get. "Mmmmm," she responded, feeling like Chanel's insistence had called for some sort of response, as she set the glass down. She ended up laughing at her own stupidity though, knowing that she sounded more dumb than anything else. "I don't know wines to be able to actually comment, so I'm gonna opt for the placebo effect telling me that anything that comes from those two is liquid gold, or you can give me your informed opinion on it," she said, mimicking Chanel's gesture to push for her to have a sip.

She returned to their original conversation as she pulled together another forkful of food. "Yeah, I feel that," she nodded. Even if her own situation made for extremely stressful times, it wasn't hard for Makayla to empathise for others in more traditional situations, who were still facing stress. "It's a new year," she pointed out, trying to be optimistic."Maybe you can find yourself a man to help you de-stress." She was going to continue to say that she should only look for one who was well endowed, both physically and financially, when the financial part reminded her of the boy whose wine they were drinking. "Maybe one whose got enough money to take strangers on lavish Disney vacations, and who must not be that bad in bed if a stripper kept him around for a while," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively, but laughing after, a clear sign that she was only joking, obviously unaware of what could have been between Chanel and Collin during Disney. "I'm not one for drama, but I guess she's done with him now because I actually just passed by her, Nick and Roman about to go into 5A. I've still been buying from Nick, but that's the first time I've seen him step foot in this building in months, so I guess they're a thing again." Pausing (and again, asking herself why she felt inclined to talk so much), she took a bite, only continuing after she had chewed, "You think that could be why Cara's been so MIA lately? Since he's back?"

So much for keeping positive. In a matter of seconds, Chanel was being reminded of what a terrible person she was to hook up with her friend's brother, and then about the countless failed relationships she'd been in her. She did, however, try looking at it positively, so her humored grin in response to Makayla's suggestion wasn't just at the girl being silly, but at Chanel reflecting on what a shit hole her life has been. Moving to New York was supposed to be a game changer. By this point, she was supposed to be in a studio by herself with a great internship--paid, mind you---and a strong circle of close friends who she connected emotionally with. She and her brother would be best friends, she'd likely be in a serious relationship with the person she'd probably end up settling down with, and by twenty-five at the latest, she'd be engaged. If it wasn't clear enough, all of this was from the mind of a teenager who'd had a substantially comfortable life. With such high expectations, in a place like New York, it was no wonder that Chanel felt hopeless a lot of the times and as though she were regressing. Or as though her lack of progress was a failure and something she ended up internalizing and believing was punishment for her being a bad daughter and sister. She sipped the wine eagerly, looking for something to busy herself with. It was no secret that Chanel liked wine, so she was definitely enjoying what she had. She wasn't a connoisseur, and she wouldn't admit to any placebo effect even if it were true, but she thought she could taste that this was a nice wine.

At the news about Nick, Chanel perked up, not that she was visibly depressed to begin with. "Nick's back?! Oh, I love Nick! Well, I mean, I guess after the whole Cara situation, and the whole drug selling thing, he's not boyfriend material, but ooh, he's just so cute." To Cara, Chanel gushing over Nick wasn't anything bizarre, but for Makayla, it might have seemed weird. It was no secret that Nick was above average in the looks department, but it would seem like Chanel had never come across someone who was tall with a sharp jawline and other nice features. It was even stranger, since Chanel, too, had similar features. "Looks like I'm going to need some more weed very, very soon," she said, laughing at herself. "Or maybe not." Chanel rolled her eyes, thinking about the story that was about to ensue. "My stupid ass brothers thought it would be funny--I mean they had the audacity to buy me one of those weed vaporizers for Christmas. It was a secret gift since my parents would have freaked out obviously, but I'm not even a pothead. They're seriously so annoying. I told them what I wanted and then they get me that, and what's worse? I really like it! So now what do I do? Thank them for insulting me?" Evident by how fast and vibrant she was speaking, Chanel was getting worked up just thinking about. She wasn't seriously upset or offended, but just severely peeved since her brothers had meant it as a joke, and it was a running joke between the three of them that Chanel was a total stoner. Since it was an inside joke, it probably didn't make much sense for an outsider's perspective, since it was simultaneously deep and not that deep at all. "I was freaking out trying to get them the perfect gift and then they play me, Makayla?"

Before Chanel could finish venting, her phone chimed, thankfully saving Chanel from anymore of the girl's antics. Sliding the phone closer to her, the name on the screen caused her to lift her brow and glance at Makayla.

From: Collin

So you and Cara are eerily similar, since apparently my original gift to you was embarrassing enough that I wasn't even allowed to show my face to give you the new one, so if I get a 2nd chance, tell me if I improved ImageImageImage

To: Collin
now what did we learn? :)

To: Collin
second gift is definitely an improvement! maybe a little too good Image my brothers are as clueless as you and don't know a thing about Origins. You went from completely off the mark to the bullseye. Very suspect Image

Placing her phone down, a faint smirk on her face, she turned to Makayla. "Oh," she said. "That was Collin. I told him it was strange how he went from totally clueless to being right on the ball. Should I tell him you like his wine? Get my foot in the door for you?" Chanel winked, lifting his glass to her mouth.

"Oooh, did they really?" Makayla swooned in admiration. Her glass bowl was just about as high-tech as she was probably ever going to get in terms of smoking instruments went, but only because of money, and not preference. She knew that vaporizers were the new cool thing, and she would have been lying if she hadn't daydreamed a few times about owning one of the newer Pax vaporizers she had found online. At hundreds of dollars a piece, it was definitely a far off dream, but she could still admire Chanel for getting to have something like that. "But if you ended up liking it, I think they played themselves more than they played you," she said, nodding at her own reasoning. "You get a vaporizer, and I get a book about dogs and the promise that I'll hear about it for the next 500 nights. Your ass is not the one that got played," she added after a moment of thought, laughing, and for the moment, ignoring the fact that she had also received a $500 gift card in that same gift. Anyone with a brain could tell that that wasn't actually from her sibling, though, despite the card only being signed by Holly.

It was surprisingly coincidental that Collin would text Chanel just as Makayla was bringing him up, but maybe not so much, given that she was only thinking of him because he had just had gifts delivered in his name, and that was what the texts were about anyway. Regardless, it made Makayla smile enough that she didn't return to the topic of Nick, and instead had her chuckling at Chanel's last comment. "On God, I don't think I will deal with a man ever again," she admitted. Again, it felt very strange getting personal with someone, but it felt oddly comfortable at the same time, only because this wasn't some intervention or very serious and personal conversation. It was a normal and easygoing one, with a light vibe... something that should have been typical for a twenty-four-year-old to be involved in, but wasn't for Makayla. She had friends at work that she would chat with sometimes, but even then, she preferred to keep to herself, mostly because she felt like there was no purpose in opening up to people she would only be working with. Chanel was a unique exception because Makayla lived with her, and even if they probably had never had this long and consistent of a conversation before, which was surprising given how long they had lived together, it wasn't entirely abnormal for her to be "normal" around Chanel. While nearly everyone else was only acquainted to her more reserved side, Makayla had to let her guard down at home, and if for no reason other than the default of being her roommate, Chanel happened to see that more often than others. "So he's all you, girl. If he's gonna bring more over you can tell him I like the wine, but otherwise you better start telling him you like the wine. He seems like the type who'll wanna wine, dine, sixty-nine you in a half-second's notice, and before you know it, you'll have a nice, comfy spot in that will," she laughed, before becoming a bit more serious, though a playful smirk still remained on her face. "It's not like he's bad looking anyway. Would you really not go for him? Even if he wasn't Cara's brother?"

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Character Portrait: Collin Forrester Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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C O L L I N - F O R R E S T E R
Outfit: This
Hex Code: #7d9959
Called scrolled through the UberEATS app on his phone. There were a lot of options for places to have food delivered from. That was a given, since he lived in New York City. There was Chinese food, Japanese food, Indian food, pizza, burgers, falafels, tacos, bagels, ice cream, baked goods, sandwiches... really anything one's heart could desire, could be ordered and delivered in less than an hour. In many respects, convenience was one of the biggest appeals about living in a city like New York, and food choices were no exception. However, as much as it was a blessing for those nights when he was craving something specific, it made things more difficult when he didn't really know what he wanted. Cara had lamely announced that she was eating salad, so he couldn't even force her to decide for him. As he scrolled through his long list of options, one restaurant caught his eye. It was called Casa La Femme, which at first, Collin assumed to be a French restaurant, simply because he recognized some of the words as having meaning in French, from what he remembered learning in school. As he read the description though, he saw that it was actually a restaurant that boasted dishes inspired by Egyptian and Moroccan classics. Instantly, it had him thinking of Chanel. Had he not felt uncertain about what he thought about her, given their last encounter, he would have texted her to see if she had tried it, and if so, what she thought of it. He wasn't going to do that now, though. With how apparently insensitive he had been with what he assumed to be a normal and acceptable gift, he doubted that she thought very well of him, and he still felt like her reaction to it was too blunt to be polite too, so he didn't know what to think of her either. Certainly, he didn't think they were friends. Maybe Cara's new and improved version of his gift would help. He hoped it would, to an extent that was greater than he really wanted to admit to, and greater than he understood why.

When Cara walked in, Collin put his phone down, startled, and overcompensating as he slid it into his pocket, almost as if just looking at a Moroccan restaurant was incriminating, and Cara would somehow be able to read his thoughts about it. "So, what did she-- I mean they, what did they say?" he asked, having to remind himself that Makayla was involved in all of this too. Admittedly, her opinion on him and the gifts didn't feel as important as Chanel's, but that was also because he still felt like Makayla was nice enough to accept any gift without judging him. Chanel's reaction had felt challenging just as much as it had felt offensive, and Collin was simply reacting in reciprocation to that. "Did they like the gifts?" he said, knowing that he was possibly over compensating, but feeling like he needed to explain himself further. Possibly to worsen the situation (or that's what he told himself after the fact), he kept talking, feeling like he had to change the subject, all the more farther from Chanel, to prove to himself and Cara that he didn't care that much about her reaction. "And what'd Holly have to say about you being MIA, if she was there? I'm beginning to get withdrawals on my daily updates on what dogs are in our neighborhood."

It was clear that his mind was all over the place, and that his emotions probably were too, because he found himself pulling his phone out of his pocket a few seconds after sliding it in there, to text Chanel. He was surprised that she answered back so quickly, and in a way that left him smiling at his phone, but he opted against answering her last message. He would keep the ball in his court for now.

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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Friday, January 6th, 2017 || 9:00 PM

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri
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#, as written by Bandit
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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
Outfit:
Hex Code: #db0083

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M a k a y l a ~ W r i g h t
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: Here
The amount of gifts that Holly had received from Cara was baffling. Makayla thought like it had seemed like a lot when they were all neatly bagged up and wrapped, but when she finished dinner with Chanel and returned to her bedroom, that had seemed oddly quiet for too long, she was caught off guard by just how many unfamiliar things were scattered on the floor, amid a sea of torn wrapping paper. In total, she had given Holly a photo book with pictures of them inside of it, gift certificates to Dylan's Candy Bar and the movie theater, a unicorn sweater, a unicorn night light, a dog shaped purse, a mug, socks, sneakers, a vest, moccasins, rain boots, a winter jacket, and an iPad. Makayla was convinced that it was more than Bill Gates would give his kids on Christmas, especially when considering the price of some of the items. She didn't even realize that many of the things, like the sweater and purse were ridiculously priced, but the brands that she was familiar with, like Ugg, North Face and Apple, was enough for her to know that Cara had spent a lot of money on this. Reflecting the unnecessarily kind way that Cara treated Holly, though, it appeared like she had also put some genuine thought into it too. Holly wasn't difficult to please, and typically made her interests very well known, but Makayla didn't have to study the gifts extensively to know that Holly was going to enjoy them. In fact, by the time that Makayla had gotten in there, she had half of the new items on, and in Makayla's opinion, was already half a minute from destroying the iPad when she snatched it from her. Makayla didn't even want to total up the amount of money that Cara had spent on the two of them, and throwing Chanel into the mix, she was convinced that Cara was the type of person to spend what was equal to a year's worth of Makayla's salary, if not more, on one holiday. It was baffling, frustrating, and scary, and yet something that Makayla had to appreciate in the moment, because she was a recipient of it. Currently, the appreciation felt like the most forced emotion though, but only because as always, it was hard for Makayla to accept such unparalleled generosity when she knew that she couldn't return it. It made her feel weak and useless, and almost as if she was being looked down upon and pitied.

Dinner with Chanel had been a nice surprise in Makayla's day though, and coupled with how she knew that Holly could really use all of the clothing items that Cara had purchased her, she wasn't going to let her self-pity ruin the day. Plus, if nothing else, she had to be excited about the possibilities that the iPad could offer. She had never had one herself, but she knew that it was basically the same thing as the iPhone, minus the calling features. She could set up an account for Holly and when Holly was home and connected to the Wifi, Makayla would be able to text her iPad from work or wherever she was, to check in. Additionally, with all of the possibilities of watching TV shows, playing games, etc., she knew that it would only make leaving Holly alone all the more easier, if her paranoia was right, and Cara really was avoiding them for some reason. After a gift like this, and the generous one that she had received herself, it was even harder to figure out how to interpret the blonde's behavior.

After dinner, Makayla had done the dishes and a few other minor chores around the apartment, before she finally got the call from the pharmacy that Holly's Adderall prescription was ready. It was around eight o'clock by then, and with how cold she was sure it still was outside, Makayla was tempted to wait until morning to get it. However, Holly was supposed to take it twice a day, and Makayla's desire for this to start working and hopefully making life easier for all of them pushed her to go out. The pharmacy was only a couple of blocks from their apartment anyway, but of course, going anywhere with Holly meant that things took more time than they really needed to. Between wanting to look through the magazines, insisting that she needed a new toothbrush (and deciding that it was a decision important enough to warrant an extra fifteen minutes of browsing), and then wanting to buy some snacks (which Makayla allowed, only because she wanted some for herself, and because of Cara's gift card), they were there for far longer than Makayla imagined. Luckily, by the time they were back at the apartment though, they had what they had went for: the prescription. Makayla would ignore the fact that they had a few bags of unnecessary things in addition to that, if only because it hadn't come out of her wallet this time.

"I'm so excited to use my toothbrush!" Holly announced, pushing their apartment door open and twirling inside. It was probably a funny statement to be made, given that she had a new iPad currently charging on her night stand, but Holly was excited about that too. The fact that she was currently wearing the sweater, socks, vest, jacket, one moccasin and one of the rain boots that Cara had gotten her, all at once, spoke to that. It was just that she was just as easily excited about the little things as the big things. "If Chanel's still awake, I'm gon--" Holly had a tendency of assuming that everyone went to bed as early as she did, and that was probably partly Makayla's fault. Her sister often pretended that she was going to bed around eight or nine too, just to get Holly to be quiet and go to bed. Often she threw in the idea that Chanel was probably asleep in her room too, to make sure that Holly quieted down and got into that sleep mindset. She cut herself off at that thought though, because as she walked into the kitchen and set the CVS bags down on the counter, she saw that Chanel was in there, looking fully awake. "You are awake!" she exclaimed, pulling her toothbrush out of the bag. "Look what I got, Chanel! A toothbrush! And it's electric! And it was fifteen dollars but Makayla still let me get it because she's in a good mood tonight! The boy who was ringing us up told her she has pretty eyes and now she's basically in love!" she laughed. "But he's not as cute as Collin is, so we're definitely not going to let her date him!" she had to add in, slipping out of her jacket and leaving the kitchen abruptly, as she decided that she needed a special hanger in her closet to hang such a new and nice and purple jacket on.

Unpacking the groceries, Makayla managed to keep her reaction limited to a small smirk and a light eye roll at her sister's antics. Luckily for Holly, she was in a decent mood tonight, but it had little to do with the compliment from the cashier that had to have still been in high school. She was just feeling all right, and she didn't feel like admitting that that $500 had definitely lowered her blood pressure and stress level significantly. "As always, I apologize," Makayla said, basically admitting that no matter how many times Chanel admitted that Holly's eccentricity didn't bother her, she would still feel the need to apologize for it. It was more-so a courtesy now, then her thinking that Holly was actually being a bother in this particular situation, though. With Holly absent for the moment, she continued. "If you're not going out tonight, let me smoke you out. It's the least I can do after all that food," she said. Appearance wise, it didn't look like Chanel was going anywhere, but at the same time, it was still early enough in the night. Makayla wasn't really into the nightlife scene (mostly because she didn't have time for it), but she knew, even just from her work at the strip club, that a lot of people didn't start their nights until midnight, so there was still a chance Chanel was going to go out. "I texted Nick earlier and he said he'll be around tonight, so once I get her in bed, I'm gonna go grab that."

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Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Outfit: This


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Makayla ~ Wright
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: This
Despite plenty of people drinking their way into the New Years just a couple of days ago, tonight wouldn't be a bore, especially with it being New York. There was never a dull moment, and what with Chanel having done everything and more in high school, the appeal of getting drunk every night had vanished. If she had a good night out, she didn't feel as compelled to go out the night after just to keep up. Granted, she still did go out quite often, but only when her funds allowed for it and when she felt like it. She was still young and enjoyed going out just as much as anyone, but she also didn't mind staying in from time to time. Because she knew the right people, she didn't have to worry about going out while she had the chance. It wasn't like she was the highlight of the night scene, but being such a sociable person, it was no surprise that she could thrive in a place like New York. She didn't know top tier people, but she knew plenty of promoters, and the friends she went out with tended to have a comparable appeal as her, making it easier for them to get into places. It was something Chanel was so used to that she didn't even realize there was a kind of privilege surrounding it. Two of her friends from school had been bugging her about going out, and she was close to giving in, just so that they would leave her alone, and because she knew that she would feel good after a few drinks. When Makayla put smoking on the table, though, her night had been officially secured.

"Not gonna say no to that." Chanel had just showered, her hair still elongated and damp and her skin supple from the steam. Currently, had face was painted green with a matcha tea mask that she actually didn't make this time. It was usually just at this time that she would fix a cup of tea and get into bed, or watch television, so she was already prepared to kickback. Since she had nothing else begging for her attention besides washing her mask off, and she didn't see any point in wasting time, plus to show her appreciation, she figured she could help Makayla out. "Did he say what time? Because I'm not doing anything and can go by and get it while you get her settled in."

Makayla didn't have a problem with going to get the weed herself, since Nick lived just down the hall, but the unsocial part of her also appreciated the idea of being able to minimize the amount of time she had to spend socializing. She liked Nick, and had seen him pretty regularly since he had moved out months ago, since he was her dealer, but she didn't want to sit around and chat all night. Most of the time, he was good about being quick with things, and treating it as a transaction. However, she didn't want to feel compelled to talk about his sudden and unannounced move back, because she knew that would problem lead to a full blown conversation. "I told him I'd try to get there before nine-thirty and he said he'd be around, so I guess anytime between now and then. If you feel like going over there, that'd be great, but no pressure. I should have a minute to get over there soon, hopefully." Holly was probably going to shower before bed, so that was going to be some spare time, but Makayla knew that she could also use that time to do a more thorough cleaning of the apartment like she enjoyed doing once Holly was actually asleep.

"It's no problem." Chanel waved her hand. She wouldn't mind the interaction, or getting out of the apartment, even if it was just for a minute. She was still adjusting to going back to real life, and being bundled up in the apartment alone was a sure fire way for her to relapse and want to call her mom, an admittance that had her feeling pretty embarrassed. "I'll just finish my face and head over there!"

"Okay, thanks. I'll leave the money on the counter," Makayla said, just before she remembered that she probably had cash on her. Waving the bills in the air, she silently signaled where she was leaving them. "And if something comes up, don't worry about it," she offered, an extra push to make it clear that she wasn't trying to inconvenience Chanel or wrap her into anything she didn't want to be involved with. She simply felt like it would be nice to reciprocate some generosity after Chanel had fed her, especially since Nick had texted her an hour or so ago, saying that he was going to be generous on their next sale, as a late holiday gift.

It only took a couple of minutes for Chanel to get everything done. After rinsing off her mask, and following up with the rest of her routine that had become quite extensive to combat the cold, dry season they were in, she made her way back to her room. Between Makayla and Holly coming in and her leaving the bathroom, she'd managed to misplace her phone. Scavenging through it, she happened up the chocolates her aunt had gotten her, realizing they were unopened. This initially confused her, since Holly had eaten them earlier, but it was then she remembered the Hershey's the girls had gotten her, which was an obviously far less serious offense. Chanel felt bad enough for feeling frustrated with the girl, even if it was only internally, that the impulsive side of her had her thinking she wasn't pure enough for the dessert. But, it was also just Chanel being dramatic and emotional simultaneously. Another walk around the apartment led to her finding her phone in the middle of the island. "Of course," she muttered, sliding it into her pocket along with the money her roommate had left. "I'll be right back!" She called to Makayla, not waiting for any response, figuring one wasn't necessary. Standing outside Nick's door, she sent Cara a quick text.

To: Cara
What indentured servitude do I have enter to say thanks for the purse? Image

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Outfit: This
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ROMAN || KILLENS
Outfit
Hex code: #11519E
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The apartment was quiet and empty, something that didn't bother Roman. After having an apartment to yourself for a while, it did start to lose its appeal, which was another reason why he was glad that Nick had moved in. Like anyone else, Roman also craved social interaction from time to time, and it was nice to have another presence in the place, but it was just easy for him to enjoy having the space to himself. It wasn't even like he was doing anything that required a bunch of privacy. The evening had been relatively lazy after (and thanks to) smoking, and after showering, he had finally come down from the high. It was around that time, when his head was finally clear, that he remembered he was supposed to find Cara's bag. It was still early, and something he didn't think would take that long despite somehow missing it for the past week, so he didn't feel any pressure to go searching for it now. Because he didn't have anything to do that moment, he had started searching for it early, deciding that it would only take a few minutes top. Because it was something Roman had already decided wasn't serious enough to require much time and energy, he felt a need to make a point of finding the purse right then and there. In reality, it hadn't been anything more than ten minutes, and he was simply getting impatient. Roman stopped in the middle of his searching, at this point thinking that he was being played.

To: Cara
you're sure you left it over here?

His room wasn't messy, so it wasn't like it could be hiding under piles of clothes. He took a chance and looked under the bed, knowing it would be a fruitless attempt, and as if to insult to injury, there it was. He groaned, not sure how such a stupid thing could end up in such a stupid place, although given the scenario, it didn't seem that weird. Before he could text Cara asking her when she wanted to bring it, since he wasn't sure if she was even home right now, there was a rapping on the door. When he opened the door to see Chanel standing there, thumbing her phone, he was no doubt surprised, but her boisterous response was somehow even more shocking, despite being totally predictable.

"Roman, hey!" Chanel exclaimed upon Roman being the one to answer the door. She wasn't so excited to see him, but it was typically a reaction she had to everyone she hadn't seen it what she felt like was a long time. Though the chances of her seeing him were exponentially high given the fact it was his apartment she was at, it was still just how Chanel was programmed, and given that she loved surprises, even predictable ones, she was still phased by even the smallest of things. "Happy New Year. I haven't seen you since Florida. How are you?"

Unlike Chanel, Roman wasn't really one for surprises, especially when they were this loud and...present. Because he didn't see her often, he had never gotten used to her strong personality, so each time was like a reset. He had managed to be okay with her during the Disney trip, but it wasn't a surprise that she would be there, and they didn't really talk one on one that often. It was much easier to take her in doses when he was with other people, that way all of her energy was spread across multiple bodies. This time, he was experiencing it head on. He wasn't sure why she seemed so excited to see him, but he wasn't offended by it. "I'm good, thanks. Happy New Year." Roman looked her over, trying to gauge what she could possibly be here for.

"That's awesome. Did you do anything fun?" Chanel was completely oblivious to Roman's reaction, because if she wasn't, she surely wouldn't try to be making conversation with him.

"Mm, no not really."

Chanel cooed, nodding empathetically, although her New Year was quite the opposite of his. "Yeah, sometimes it's nice just to relax and not do anything too crazy. I was running around after the trip, so just being able to relax sounds like a dream," she said, laughing. "Oh yeah. I heard Nick moved back." In response, Roman only offered an affirmative, but she didn't take it the wrong way. "Aww, that's so cool. Rooming with your friends is the best. I mean, sometimes it actually sucks you know, but you and Nick seem like you're totally compatible, so I bet it's great. I was actually here for him. I'm picking something up for Makayla and she said he would be here. Can I come in?"

"No," Roman said, perhaps a bit too quickly, and he didn't miss the shocked, if not a bit insulted, look on Chanel's face. Chanel wasn't necessarily his favorite person, and he knew he could be a bit terse and typically didn't care, but he knew that she had good intentions, so he did feel some regret for sounding so cold."Sorry, not no. He's actually not here."

"Oh. He's not?"

"He went to that pub down the street. I don't know when he's gonna be back, but you could probably just meet him there. Or I could just text him if you really need it right now." Roman didn't need Chanel to tell him what exactly it was she was picking up, since it was pretty obvious, especially if Makayla was involved. There wasn't anything out for him to give Chanel, otherwise he would, but he wasn't going to go through Nick's things just for it.

"Nah, you don't have to do that. Were you heading down there too?"

Roman shook his head. He definitely had time to, but just didn't feel like it. Upon second thought, it didn't seem like the worse idea, but he was also trying to cut the conversation short, and wanted to avoid the possibility of Chanel extending an invitation. "Probably'll just stay here for the night." When Chanel left, he would text Nick to make sure he was still there, since even he'd feel pretty bad if he accidentally fed the girl the wrong information.

"Oh okay. We'll probably go down there, but you have a good rest of your night." It took a minute to think of what bar Roman was talking about (and another second to realize what he meant by pub) before she realized he had to mean Art Bar. It wasn't a place she frequented, and while she wasn't sure if she wanted to brave the cold for weed, the night was still early, and it was only a couple minutes walk from the apartment. She had been against going out simply because her friends were trying to go clubbing, but she wasn't totally opposed to the idea of chilling out in a toasty bar. And considering it was that or wait who knew how long for Nick to get back, the former seemed like the better option. She'd rather have a beer or two than feel like she was rushing Nick over some weed. Back in her apartment, she started to head back to her room before she remembered the money in her pocket. "Hey," she said when she found Makayla. "He wasn't there, but Roman said he was down at Art Bar. It's like five minutes away from here, I think. You wanna go?"

To: Nick
you're still at the pub, right?

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri
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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
Outfit:
Hex Code: #db0083

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M a k a y l a ~ W r i g h t
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: Here
Makayla had managed to clean down most of the kitchen and her bedroom, by the time that Chanel had returned from Nick's. The kitchen was pretty clean anyway, thanks to Chanel, but Makayla had a tendency to enjoy making things spotless. Part of the need to clean stemmed from her wanting to compensate to be a better roommate, but it had also grown into a relaxing hobby for her. It probably seemed like overkill, wiping down every door knob in the house nightly and cleaning off every single surface in the place, but it wasn't harming anyone, and she didn't mind doing it. She was heading down the hallway towards the bathroom when Chanel returned, explaining that Nick was at some bar down the block. Truthfully, Makayla didn't feel like braving the cold just to pay for overpriced, watered down drinks at some bar. She wanted her weed, and that was really all. She had had a good enough time with Chanel that evening though, that she felt weird saying no, so she nodded. "Yeah, sure. I should be good in... maybe fifteen or twenty minutes?" she said, nodding towards the bathroom door that she was a few feet away from. "If you want to head down without meet, I can always meet you there," she added, her never-ending fear of being a burden kicking in.

With Chanel's confirmation that that was fine, Makayla turned back towards the bathroom door she had been heading towards. "Are you almost done?" She had asked that three times already in the past fifteen minutes, her knuckles meeting the wood door gently, but loud enough to be heard over the rushing shower water on the other side. This time, to her delight, she heard the water turn off. Normally, Makayla wasn't very pushy about Holly's tendencies to take long showers. Even tonight, when Holly normally would have already been asleep, and Makayla would have finally had time to relax after a long day of work and dealing with her sister, she wasn't rushing Holly out of a selfish desire to want to jump into her normal routine. She was only really rushing the girl because now Chanel was involved in her night's plan, and she didn't want to hold Chanel up. Even if Chanel offered for them to smoke in her bedroom, Makayla would still feel weird doing so knowing that Holly was awake in the next bedroom. She had smoked on many occasions before, when Holly was probably still in between sleep and awareness, but she knew what it was safe to do that and when it wasn't. Luckily for her, Holly normally went to bed early, and at nearly a quarter past night, this was actually pretty late for her. She didn't doubt that Holly would fall asleep soon after she got out of the shower, but she was surprised that she had managed to actually take a quick shower for once.

Even though Holly had heard Makayla's knocks, and her muffled words through the door and running water, she hadn't bothered to answer. It was one of those times where she physically heard the words and noise, but wasn't actually processing it thoughtfully, in a way where she would even think that a response was necessary. Showering was an oddly peaceful time for Holly. She liked the hot water, and she liked being stationary somewhere and not actually wanting to move or do anything else. It was relaxing and calming; the perfect thing for her to do before getting into bed, because it was really the only way that her brain would transition from jumping all over the place to turning itself off. It was merely coincidental that she had managed to take a notably shorter shower tonight, compared to her normal ones, but the fact that she didn't have the strawberry scented body wash that she liked using played a role in that too. In a blissful manner, she hummed a Taylor Swift song to herself as she rung the excess water out of her hair and stepped out of the shower, still pretty oblivious to Makayla being on the other side, anxiously trying to speed up the process. It was just about time for Holly to knock out for the night, as she was usually asleep somewhere between eight or nine o'clock. It was early for most people, especially on a Friday night, but it was too habitual for her to break at this point. She was up at six or seven in the morning, sometimes even earlier, and was so active all day, if not physically, then just mentally, that she really was exhausted by the time that night hit. Tonight was no different, but that didn't mean that she was running to bed. Not when she had her new toothbrush to try out!

It was another habit of hers to get dressed in the bathroom, rather than returning to her bedroom in a towel and getting changed there. It didn't have much to do with modesty, since she had known Makayla since she was a child, and was basically raised by her, but more so, it was done out of convenience. It was part of her routine, and she didn't like breaking routines, so after she showered, she always got dressed, combed her hair, and brushed her teeth before leaving the bathroom to go to bed. It spoke to how she was normally winding down energy-wise at this hour, because she rarely struggled to get through this part of her routine. She didn't interrupt herself, or distract herself with stories that she had to tell Makayla or Chanel. She just did what she needed to do, and eventually would emerge from the steamy bathroom with her arms full of clothes that would go into the hamper. Just as she opened the door to do that, she nearly walked into Makayla who was standing on the other side, seemingly ready to start knocking again. "Hi," she said, in a way that was probably clearly tired, though her expression perked up with happiness just at the sight of her sister. "My new toothbrush worked," she offered in addition as she side stepped her, so that she could head into their bedroom.

"Okay, good," Makayla nodded soundly, following Holly into their bedroom. She considered telling Holly that she was going to run out with Chanel for a few minutes to run some errand, but she didn't want to risk her insisting that she come with them. It was easier, in her opinion, to just wait for Holly to fall asleep, and then leave. It was very rare that the girl ever woke up in the middle of the night, so that wasn't a concern for her. "Maybe tomorrow we can get bagels before I go to work," she suggested, as she turned off the overhead light in the room, and swapped that for the lava lamp that sat in between their beds. Remembering the prescription pills they had picked up earlier, she took one from the bottle, failing to reaffirm the directions for taking them that the doctor had written on a sheet of paper she still had somewhere, and carrying it over to Holly. Had she looked at that, she would have realized that she was supposed to give Holly one pill first thing in the morning, and then another in the early afternoon, not at night. "And we can't forget to take this," she said, pushing Holly's water bottle towards her as she held the small pill out in the palm of her hand.

Holly didn't want to take the pill, simply because she didn't like new things unless they were glittery or fun or had some sort of appeal factor to them. Only because she was tired, and was happy that she got to have her lava lamp on for a little while, did she pop the pill into her mouth and wash it down with water in a quick gulp. "I bet Chanel would want to get bagels with us too," she offered, as she slipped beneath the covers in her bed. Makayla was right that the lava lamp was kind of bright when you were trying to sleep next to it, but Holly would never admit that. The prettiness of it was overwhelming compared to any of the negatives anyway. "And I'll bring your Christmas dog book to the bagel place and read it to you there since I'm too tired tonight," she said mid-yawn.

"That sounds good," Makayla nodded, pleased that Holly was, as expected, tired and seemingly minutes away from falling asleep. Seeing her like this would make Makayla feel less guilty and paranoid later, because it was evident now that she wasn't just abandoning Holly to go party. Holly was actually tired and going to be asleep. "I'm going to take a shower tonight too, and then clean the bathroom, and then I'll turn the light off before I get into bed." It seemed like the best and most reasonable excuse to give, to explain why she was currently looking through her closet for clothes. A bar didn't require formal attire, but she felt like she needed to wear more than leggings and a sweatshirt, especially if she was going to be standing next to Chanel the whole time. She wasn't actually going to shower, but she carried the change of clothes and shoes out into the bathroom where she did change. Once she was re-dressed, she headed into the living room and sat down on the couch to wait for Chanel.

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Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Outfit: This
As was probably obvious given her outfit of choice, Chanel had just picked some of the first few things she saw in her closet and hoped for the best. She had been that person before, who 'just picked the first thing they saw' but it happened to be a very fashionably put together outfit, but tonight wasn't one of those nights. Fortunately, though, she was one of those people who could pull off just about anything thanks to her tall figure, and her personality coupled with the way she carried herself likely had a lot to do with it as well. In the bathroom, she tried figuring out what to do with her, now regretting taking her braids out so soon. While she had been doing it, something in the back of her mind was telling her she would end up regretting this. It was really only a problem because her hair was still damp and she didn't want to get a cold, never mind the fact that walking around with wet hair in the dead of winter wasn't comfortable nor was it cute. By this point, it was really only damp, but still noticeably so. Settling for the simple updo, she tossed her hair up into a bun, hoping for the best. She didn't expect to be out long or to do anything fancy, otherwise she would have changed her attire, but the truth of the matter was that she didn't really care that much. She was still quite relaxed from her wind down for the evening, and getting dolled up would feel like completely undoing that. Just getting out for a little bit was enough for her, especially when it entailed being able to dress down as well. Of course, being who she was, she did want to add a little pizazz, and so just before leaving her room, she decided on a pair of hoops--not too big, not too small. She wasn't trying to stunt, but she wasn't trying to be humble either. Plus, if she recalled correctly, the bar was pretty low key. If it wasn't, she would have probably just stayed inside rather than get more done up. Even though it was just a five minute walk, she still grabbed an extra coat because five minutes automatically felt a lot longer in extreme weather.

"All right," she announced with a wide grin as she emerged from the hall. "Let's go make some illegal transactions."

Chanel was surprisingly quiet on the way down the steps, for no other reason than that minute was a rare occasion where she didn't have anything to say. Of course, upon opening the door and being greeted with the frigid outside air, things changed and she let out a pained shriek, followed by a slew of curses. "Wow, wow, wow." she said, bundled her arms around her body. Despite being extremely uncomfortable, not the type to handle cold weather all that well, she was still smirking, somehow managing to find the humor in all of this. It was quite a normal reaction for Chanel to laugh at things that weren't necessarily funny. During any unexpected or uncomfortable situation (within reason), she would find herself laughing, if only for a second. It wasn't out of enjoyment most of the time, thought she wasn't one of those people who couldn't laugh at themselves. Usually, it was a natural reaction and a way of trying to make herself feel more comfortable. Chanel was naturally a happy-go-lucky person, so while the opposite kind of person in the same situation would likely complain and be incredibly upset, Chanel could be just as uncomfortable, and be able to laugh as a way of coping. "So cold! Brr!" She quickened her pace, trying to get to the place faster, and also trying to generate more heat. "Have you been to this place before? I don't think I have, but I believe it's really chill. Or wait, maybe I did, but it was a really long time ago. I hope they sell food there."