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Nick Moreno

0 · 2,617 views · located in New York City

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

Description

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Name:
Nicolas Christian Moreno

Nickname:
Nick

Age:
24

Birthday:
January 24th

Sexuality:

Heterosexual

Hometown:
Los Angeles, California (0-2 years old)
New York, New York (2 years old-Current)

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Personality:
One of Nick's most notable features is that he carries a very relaxed and chill vibe to him. He's not the kind of person who gets stressed out very easily, and he likes to take things as they come and deal with them in the moment. He isn't one to plan ahead or worry about details, and he often just feels like things work out in the end, so there's no use in planning for them or becoming anxious over every last detail. Additionally, he's also a pretty flexible person. He's not strongly opinionated on most things and he won't argue with people about anything that doesn't impact him in an extreme manner. Given that, Nick isn't a hard person to get along with. He usually doesn't bother people that don't bother him, and has a tendency to appreciate silence and solitude, so it would be a rare occasion that he would deserve to be called "annoying". He tends to live in his head a lot, and though he's quiet, he's often thinking a lot more than he's willing to vocalize. While he was always an average student and would never be called intelligent more than the next person, he's not brainless. He thinks deeply and has an appreciation for philosophy, poetry, and art. It's not something he often vocalizes, simply because he's not the type to go around talking about his hobbies and interests, but they're there nonetheless.

There are some things that will set him off, and the top one would definitely be people hurting the ones that he loves. He has thick skin and isn't easily riled up when people attack his own character, but he can't stand to see people hurt the people he prides himself in protecting. He definitely has those instincts to look out for and protect people, and once he feels like he can relate and connect with you, he likely views you as a friend. Even people he only knows through his sales are often people he would consider to be friends. He isn't the type of friend who will be calling you daily to check in, but there's still something to appreciate about someone who will comp your weed if he knows you're having a bad day, or who will beat the shit out of someone who's been messing with you. Nick's that kind of guy... the type who doesn't always make his love for people well-known in obvious senses, but does hold his close relationships with people high up on his priorities list.

To an extent, his personality can probably, at least somewhat, be attributed to how much weed he smokes. Growing up, he was always a lot more goofy and energetic. Aging probably took some of that away, but the weed also helps him maintain his more stoic and calm demeanor. It's not something that he minds, really, because he loves being high, but he also is aware that when he's sober (which isn't often, lately), he has a lot more energy and interest in actually being productive than he does high. He does feel like he's stuck in a phase, where he started using marijuana as a coping method, and has now stuck with it out of routine and convenience. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't an expensive habit and if he didn't feel like just laying around and eating for more than half of the day. Right now, Nick doesn't have the need or motivation to break the habit, but surprisingly, he does have attributions and goals underneath all of the nonchalance and carelessness. He's just not sure what those goals are, exactly, at this point, but he does feel like he has the potential to do bigger and better things, and he knows that cutting down on his smoking would be a good first step in figuring them out.

ImageHistory:
Nick was the product of a one night stand between two teenagers who barely knew each other. His mother was a high school senior and his father was the older brother of one of her friends, who happened to be at the same party as her one night. They slept together and thought that that would be it, but the summer after she graduated, she found out that she was three months pregnant. She had slept with various boys that spring, so it wasn't until Nick was born that a paternity test was conducted and his father's identity came to light. Neither his mother nor his father's family could afford to take care of another child, and it wasn't like either of the young adults wanted that responsibility, but his father's parents refused to see a grandson of theirs be dumped into the foster care system. They legally adopted him, and for most of his childhood, he actually thought that they were his parents. It wasn't until he was a pre-teen that they explained their true relationship to him, and though it was odd and startling for such a revelation to be revealed, and shake up what he thought was his reality, he wasn't incredibly bothered by it. It didn't change how much he cared for them.

Two years after he was born, his grandparents closed up the bodega that they owned in Los Angeles and reopened it in Brooklyn, New York, where they raised Nick. Nick's family was always a part of the working class, so he never had much, but it was always more than enough for him. He was never a kid who asked for much, and he was happy with the small group of friends he had. He was an average student in school and planned on going to community college after high school, but his grandparents both passed away, three months apart during his senior year of high school, and it wasn't something that he could recover from right away. It sent him into a depression, and that was when he turned to drugs as his vice to get by. One thing led to another, and the forty grand his grandparents had left him as inheritance was gone within two years of him losing them. He took up dealing drugs to keep up with his marijuana habit and make cash to get by too. He spent a while couch hopping from friends apartments, once his inheritance ran dry, and worked as a busy boy part time, too. Once he really started claiming ground with his dealing, however, he was making enough money to pay the rent, and have some spending money leftover. He currently prioritizes his drug dealing as his main way of making a living, but he does bounce around through other entry level jobs too, and is currently working in the kitchen of Olive Garden in Times Square.

So begins...

Nick Moreno's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Zoey Saidi
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#, as written by Bandit
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M a k a y l a ~ W r i g h t
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: Here
The only reason for why this bar seemed pretentious, was because its name fit its theme very well, and unique artwork was hung throughout the establishment. That in itself wasn't necessarily pretentious, but Makayla (unfairly) liked to clump a lot of young artists into the hipster movement, or more-so, the "I'm spending sixty grand a year of my parents' money on an art degree that I'll never use!". It sounded bitter, which was why she wouldn't verbalize that thought, and it probably was nothing short of bitter. Other than that, though, the bar seemed cozy and filled with pretty average people. A glance at the drink specials written above the bar suggested that the prices were on the lower side for Manhattan too, which gave her a better feeling about the place. Though she had no reason to frequent bars since she didn't have any friends to socialize with, it was good to know that she could afford to come to this place once in a blue moon if she ever needed to.

Like Chanel, Makayla didn't see Nick at first, and it actually took Chanel's big statement for her to realize where the boy was sitting. Bundled up in layers, Makayla smiled, but couldn't really judge him given how her body was just beginning to recover from the cold outside. She only smiled along as Chanel spoke, her eyes drifting away from the pair for a few seconds to examine the space a little bit more. Though she had said just a minute ago that she was going to lay into Nick about making them walk through the cold, she suddenly felt more quiet now. It wasn't for any particular reason; her mood hadn't shifted that drastically, she just didn't feel like she had anything to say. That was fine, anyway, since Nick started talking, introducing them to a girl sitting beside him, that Makayla hadn't even realized he was with. She looked young, probably too young to be sitting at that bar, but Makayla only made a silent mental note of that. It was easy to assume that she was one of Nick's clients, and nothing more.

Between Nick buying a round of shots and Makayla tossing it back rather quickly, almost in a desperate manner, the girl, who introduced herself as Zoey, being momentarily distracted by a blonde, and then leaving herself, Makayla didn't get a word in, but it wasn't in an unnaturally silent way. Things were just moving quickly, and anyone who knew Makayla knew that she didn't feel the need to interject unless she actually had something that she wanted to say. She was content with just watching what was playing out, though admittedly, she did feel like rolling her eyes when Nick explained to the girl why they were there to see him. Though Zoey looked harmless, and Makayla had no idea that she lived in their building, and therefore had no reason to believe that she would ever see her again, she still didn't like her business being blasted to strangers. Leaving the seat next to Nick open for Chanel, she sat in the other one, that Jetta had previously been sitting in. Although she was tempted to order a drink, maybe a margarita or something to keep with tequila for the night, she didn't feel like spending even a reasonable eight dollars on it. She wasn't desperate for a drink anyway; she just wanted something to be able to hold and fiddle with while she was sitting there. "Damn, Nick, isn't there some sort of unspoken confidentiality clause in our transactions? I feel like that child's about to run home to her mother and tell on us," she said, her tone serious but the look on her face more light and playful as she rolled her eyes. "And you had this child nearly getting frost bite walking over here," she added, nodding to Chanel. "Not cool."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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ROMAN || KILLENS
Outfit
Hex code: #11519E
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After the conversation with Chanel, Roman had forgotten to text Cara back he found her purse, and to ask when she wanted it by. He didn't plan on coming over until a bit later anyway, and not thinking to wait to hear from Nick, he left his phone in the kitchen and made another small meal. If Roman's stature told him anything, it was no surprise that he had such a bearlike appetite. His metabolism still hadn't caught up to him yet, so he was still enjoying the benefits being young brought. What he made couldn't really be called a meal, though, since it was just a bowl of sugar. Roman didn't plan on just sitting watching TV and eating a bowl of cereal, but he thought he was still waiting to hear from Nick. Roman also didn't really have a plan in general though. If he got too bored, he would head down to Art Bar to kill some time, but for now, he was fine sitting in front of a screen and chilling out. It wasn't until he heard his phone clamor against the counter top did he remember that he had meant to text Cara. Oddly enough, she was the one who had texted him, as well as Nick not too long. He briefly wondered how he'd missed that message, but after reading the two that Cara sent, he quickly had his answer.

To: Nick

Nah, probably not

The purse was sitting on his bed where he'd last left it. He could have easily texted her to chill out because he had found it, but that was too nice of a response in his mind. He felt like he had to dig a little deeper just simply because of the principle of it. He didn't figure Cara would actually take him seriously, but he didn't care about that so much as he did being able to say it.

To: Cara
i found it in the bin. confused the retched thing for trash. silly me

Only another minute passed before he headed for the door. Just long enough for him to cleanse his teeth and grab Cara's bag. He didn't think he'd be coming over at this time, but he certainly wasn't complaining. That was until he was in the middle of locking his door and heard an unfortunately familiar voice behind him. Roman placed the bag behind his body some, not knowing that that would be the last thing Holly was probably thinking about in the moment. Given the girl's normal behavior, if he came out with a red button on his shirt he'd surely be harassed for it. Him carry a woman's purse was bound to raise a few questions. Thankfully, the one he got was one about Brooklyn. He blinked, confused at first, before frowning. "Holly, Brooklyn's at work because she's an adult and that's what adults do," he said, not putting in enough effort to be cruel, but also not bothering to be particularly kind either. He didn't realize he'd set himself up for a nice rebuttle from Holly, wondering why he wasn't at work since he was presumably an adult as well. "And Chanel and your sister haven't been kidnapped. You know that's a really serious thing to say? You shouldn't say that if you don't know it's true. They just went down the street for a second. You're old enough to be by yourself for a minute. Just don't microwave a fork and you'll be fine." If Roman was even trying to be helpful, and not the least bit dumb, he would have taken notice of the strangeness of the whole situation. Holly was always asleep early, and that was something he even knew. The girl's attire spoke to that as well. She didn't really have any business wondering around and so it would have made the most sense to just contact her sister or at the very least tell Holly to go back inside and quit whining (not that she was whining). But when Roman didn't feel like being bothered with Holly--normally when he wasn't expecting her presence--he didn't take the time to consider the unique case that was Holly Maddon, and perhaps it was because he didn't want to actually feel like he was babysitting someone who was at the age where they could, in some aspects, take care of themselves.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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✧ NICK MORENO ✧
Dialogue Color: #bb1a39
Outfit

Nick nodded to Zoey, who made her exit soon after another girl had come over and taken her attention away from a second. He wasn't pressed on having her come over to spoke, but the idea of getting a new client, or even two, wasn't something that he would turn down. Young college kids were great business for him, especially since a lot of them had lots of friends who they would either buy for, or send to him for more individual transactions. The way that Makayla had perceived his comments to her had him second guessing that, though he was able to sense that she was at least partially joking. Makayla was an interesting girl. She was typically quiet and reserved, but not in a way where she seemed like the girl that had nothing to say or contribute. There was almost an air of wisdom about her, that made it seem like she only spoke when it was necessary, but her words usually were more appreciated than someone who constantly needed to fill the silence with words. Nick had smoked with her many times, so he had been able to see her personality more firsthand and knew that she actually had a good sense of humor, and a strong character about her. She was the kind of person who was intriguing in the sense that it was very easy, for Nick at least, to want to know more about her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, throwing his hands up in surrender. "I didn't realize it was that deep." To address her last complaints, about him forcing Chanel out into the cold, he turned back to the bartender who had come over to take their empty shot glasses. "And I'm gonna bother you once more for another round of shots, if you don't mind," he said to the man, before smirking as he glanced over at Chanel, and then Makayla. "This one needs another to warm up her body, and this one needs one to warm up her soul," he joked. Once the bartender had moved to get new glasses and the tequila, he looked back at the girls more seriously. "I'm not trying to keep you guys from your nights, though, so I actually am sorry for that mess up on my part. Are you guys going out tonight? I'm surprised you're not working," he said, looking at Makayla before glancing back at Chanel, as he realized that he had no idea what she did for a living. "What do you do for work, again?" he asked, sure that Chanel had told him at one point. "You should do what she did," he said, nodding to Makayla, "And get Brooklyn to get you something at her place. Good money, or so I've heard."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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Hex Code: #c7256e
Outfit: This
Unlike Makayla, Chanel wasn't too bothered by Nick airing their business. Not that she didn't have a right to be, and maybe if she wasn't in such a good mood she would be, but right now she was pretty oblivious. The bar was pretty full, but she felt like it had a good energy about it, but it was also just like Chanel to try to see the positivity in things. This kind of set up wasn't her go to, but because she'd had a good introduction in the first thirsty seconds of entering, she felt as though the place as a whole was a bit better, at least more than she would probably think if she was here alone or having a bad day. Because she was jus excited to be out of the apartment for a minute, she was more appreciative of every encounter, so even the possibility of them smoking with a stranger who probably didn't have any place being in this bar sounded like a good idea and was even welcomed on her end. When Nick called for a second round of shots, she was surprised to say the least. Nick never seemed like a stingy person, but even Chanel wasn't so generous herself, especially with people she wasn't considerably close with. She did have the tendency to be the friendly enabler in disguise where she wouldn't pressure you into drinking more, but she would do something like announcing she was getting shots for everyone. Free drinks was usually enough to entice just about anyone. Chanel didn't like to think of herself as a lightweight, and it wasn't even that she was against drinking a bit more than she expected, especially since it wasn't on her dollar, but doing two shots back to back was a bit much for her since she wasn't trying to have that kind of night. She didn't mind leaving with a buzz, but two shots in a row was enough to leave her a few notches past that. If she was looking to just let loose and have a good time, that was a different story, but she had anticipated just smoking. She wasn't going to say no, but she would just wait a few minutes until she took this second one because she wasn't trying to rush things, and even for someone like her who enjoyed her alcohol, she knew her limits (when she was sober enough).

Chanel laughed, looking at Makayla sweetly. She didn't even recall the brief conversation she had with Brooklyn at Disney about being a dancer. Chanel was blessed with long limbs, rhythm, and confidence, three things that went well together. So if she just had to dance, it probably wouldn't be too bad of a thing to consider. She was under the assumption, though, that you had to be a bit more endowed than she was. Chanel wasn't skin and bones by any means. She was slim and had a nice shape and curves, but she definitely wouldn't regard herself as having 'curves for days.' Neither Brooklyn or Makayla fell into that category either, though, but Chanel still figured she was too lanky and not bodacious enough to really be a worthy stripped. She had taken a pole dancing class for a friend's birthday the summer before, but and felt sexy during the class, but it was common (and for many of those places, it was even the purpose) for women to feel empowered afterwards. The truth of the matter was that Chanel figured she would just look like a giraffe in heels, and that wasn't a really cute look, so at least for the time being, she'd stick to fun classes. "Oh, God, I would probably fall on my face," she said, shaking her head. "I do some freelance work and work as a barista," she said. In truth, Chanel had had many jobs since moving. She was considering quitting the coffee shop jib for something in the food industry or even retail. Even if it didn't pay significantly different, she got bored of routine and was looking to change the scenery. The only thing that had stopped her from doing anything thus far was sheer laziness. "And then whatever other side hustle I can get my hands onto," she said. Pulling her glass closer to her, she lifted in some, eyeing Nick suspiciously. "How many of these have you had?" Nick didn't seem drunk by means, so she was genuinely just wondering. At least in her experience, unless she was really trying to fuck things up, she didn't get into the back to back shots until after a few drinks. She could have been underestimating how long Nick had been here, but he did seem too sober to have had that many other drinks. "Don't let me and Makayla end up taking you home."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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#, as written by Bandit
Image
M a k a y l a ~ W r i g h t
Hex Code: #FF8400
Outfit: Here
Makayla offered Nick her middle finger in a half-hearted manner as he commented on her needing more tequila to warm up her soul. Unlike Chanel, even after he started questioning Chanel about her work life, Makayla didn't suspect that Nick was drunk. She probably should have, since as far as she knew, Nick had to have been here for at least thirty minutes, given how long it had taken them to get ready and come down here, and simply assuming that they hadn't come a minute before he had gotten here. However, as surprising as it seemed thinking about it now, she had never seen Nick drunk. Not as far as she could tell, anyway. She had seen him stoned, but even that didn't seem like a big deal for a guy who was a drug dealer, and who, as far as Makayla could guess, probably drank regularly too. He had a subdued personality to begin with, so if he had ever been high on something else other than weed, that had offered a similar quiet yet clearly out of it experience, she wouldn't have noticed. For someone with a heavy involvement in this world though, she did think it was interesting that she had never seen Nick on a bad trip, or just in a very intoxicated state. While he wasn't always talkative and friendly, she didn't immediately feel like he had to be drunk to act this way, though Chanel bringing it up did make her curious, and her smile reflected that, as she tossed back her second shot.

For a small girl, Makayla's tolerance was pretty high, but she was obviously still human. Two shots back to back would have her feeling a buzz shortly, and she didn't need or plan on drinking anymore, especially because she still wasn't planning on spending any money on alcohol here. "You would make some good side money doing what I do," she said to Chanel, rejecting her impulse to allow that conversation to fade into nothingness in favor of playfully grilling Nick on his intake. She was sure that Chanel's tips would be a lot higher than hers, if not because of her model-like appearance, than because she was just simply a lot more friendly than Makayla was. Even though being a cocktail waitress at a gentleman's club wasn't exactly the same as doing it in a restaurant, your tips more or less still depended on how well liked you were by the customers. "But what the hell am I saying?" she then said, shaking her head. "See, you're lucky. You've got a mom and a dad who would probably beat your ass if they found out you stepped foot in a place like that," she laughed, before turning to Nick to say, "Stop trying to corrupt her. Let her make a clean living where she ain't exploiting herself for shit." She had no reason to think that Chanel was already tampering with that world in a sense.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Collin Forrester Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Saturday, January 7th, 2017 || 1:00 PM

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Collin Forrester Character Portrait: Makalya Wright Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 || 3:00 PM

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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✧ NICK MORENO ✧
Dialogue Color: #bb1a39

Was it wrong to be drinking at three o'clock on a Wednesday? By most people's standards, probably. By Nick's, it was too, but he didn't seem to care today. He wasn’t someone who abided by strict societal rules to begin with, but he normally tried to be a productive enough human to not start drinking until at least dinner time. Granted, he was often high before then, but to him, being high was different than being drunk. It was less obnoxious and more justifiable. Despite the norms of the world and his own standards, however, he was drinking…and drinking whiskey, to be exact. The whiskey based cocktail was what the manager of The Stanton Social offered to make him, and given that it was on the house, Nick just couldn’t decline. Upscale places like this always made him feel a bit out of place. Right now, the restaurant wasn’t even open, and he was just here supplying the manager with his weekly fix of cocaine, so it wasn’t like the place was filled with its typical snobby crowd, but he still felt like he didn’t belong. On one hand, Nick was used to places like this, because he had clients that came from all walks of life…upper class included. Still, even if he frequented places like this for business purposes, he always felt more comfortable keeping them as places that were strictly for business. For him, it was much easier to relax in some seedy pub or dive bar than in a place filled with Caras, where paying sixteen dollars for a tiny cocktail was seen as a steal. Declining free alcohol seemed stupid to him, but what really made him accept the drink was courtesy. It was like going over to someone’s house, sitting down for dinner, and then declining to eat the meal they made. It felt rude and improper, and though he was probably overthinking it, the chatty client insisted, and Nick felt inclined to sit down at the empty bar and hang out for a little bit.

After one drink, he was able to hurry out with a lie that he had another customer to meet up with. As of now, business was done for the day. In his line of work, all it took was one text from someone for him to be on the clock again, but he had gotten lucky with hard drug sales today, so he wasn’t pressed over making any effort to make more money for the day. One drink didn’t leave him feeling even slightly tipsy, but he was hungry all of the sudden. Surprisingly, he hadn’t smoked yet today, so it could only be chalked up to his seemingly never-ending appetite. He ducked into a corner store to buy a lottery ticket, oddly feeling lucky, but just before doing so, a restaurant caught his eye across the street and he decided to text Roman. Despite being roommates, he hadn’t seen the boy much over the past few weeks. The fact that they were both so laid back, and both honestly tended to sleep a lot, probably played into it, but Nick figured that it wouldn’t hurt to reach out. There friendship was a low-maintenance one, but it was one that they put effort into from time to time, so Nick didn’t feel odd doing so.

To: Roman
You around? Come through and try that meatball shop w me on Stanton St

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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Image
ROMAN || KILLENS
Outfit with jacket
Hex code: #11519E
═══════════════════════════
The perks of using drugs and living with a drug dealer, who happened to be your close friend, were pretty obvious. That wasn't to say that Roman's relationship with Nick led to him using drugs, nor did it assist it. In the beginning, Nick was more of an asset to him unlike now, where he saw the guy as being someone who was a part of his life. Before any real relationship was established, it wasn't weird or strange for Roman to go to Nick for things. Now, though, especially with them living together, the perks weren't as great. Roman would go to Nick for small things like weed, or if he was going out for whatever reason, maybe see if he could hook him up with some of the more popular party drugs. That was easy though. Weed and a little boost for a night were nothing to be concerned over. And while Roman had a reputation for being cold and terse and socially inept, he wasn't totally clueless and did have the ability to sympathize and look out for others. He intentionally didn't utilize Nick as much as before because he didn't want to sound any alarms. That was a pretty clear, though indirect, way of admitting he did have a serious problem because problems that don't exist wouldn't need hiding, especially from those closest to you. Part of it was because he didn't want Nick in his business, but the greater reason for Roman keeping his friendly drug contact to a minimum was less for his own benefit and more for his friends. While they didn't have the type of relationship where Roman would expect to come home to some kind of intervention, it was actually because it was quite the opposite that provoked Roman to be respectful. Because he knew chances were that Nick would probably be mum about it, at least for a bit, before ever confronting him with it. That wasn't something he wanted to put on Nick, doubly so because that was something he didn't want to have to deal with. He was even careful of not going crazy with the pills in Brooke's presence because he did take note of her side glances. It was for those reasons that Roman found himself in the Lower East Side, less visiting an old friend than picking up a request.

Typically Roman wouldn't go out of his way like this for weed, and he usually didn't have to because if he did, that was where Nick came in, but he had been smoking a lot more than usual over the past few weeks. Roman had what you could call a system in place, a checks-and-balances. He wasn't going to admit that he was struggling with addiction because of his own arrogance and refusing to believe he could fail at anything, and drug addiction, to him, was a failure. But he was also too prideful and didn't like accepting help. Part of proving to himself that everything was under control was by not being a completely reckless idiot. He didn't have an agenda or anything, nor had he taken the time to do any research into the actual science behind what he put into his body, and he still just popped and smoked whatever he felt like, but he tried not to overdo it on the pills and tended to use weed as a buffer. Even still, while he wasn't trying to change his ways, he wasn't actively in pursuit of death either. Death wasn't necessarily a fear of his, but it definitely wasn't something he was nonchalant about either. He didn't care enough about his life to not risk it at night for quick money, but he also wasn't do hardcore drugs like meth. Ideally, he would want to live to old age with his teeth in tact and wits about him, not dying at 28 looking 30 years his senior. Because he wasn't in the stupidly suicidal train of thought, weed became the easiest and most sensible alternative to popping extra pills to dull his anxiety and racing thoughts. He was even so desperate that he'd turned to a new herbal tea.

The source of anxiety was due to family issues. They were less issues than they were hyperbolized scenarios he'd created in his head that only got intenser as the days went on and he continued to ignore phone calls that had been getting more and more frequent. Of course, when he refused to actually see what was going on and was left to his own devices, still not knowing the fate of his father, it created an easy recipe for mental disaster. Roman had never been close to his dad, hadn't spoken to either one of his parents since he was a teenager, and had a pretty hostile relationship before then. In fact, during one of their last conversations, which would more accurately be described as an argument, Roman vividly recalled his dad lamenting over what he had done to deserve a son like Roman, and that he knew he should have had more. Even before moving to America, Roman had basically moved out his parents place because it had gotten violent. He wasn't being slung around and punched till he bled, but physical altercations did happen on a handful of occasions, which was always too many by normal, healthy standards. While a lot of the issues did stem from things out of his control, such as the way his parents raised him and the issues that came from that, Roman was at an age where he was responsible for his own actions, so his hands weren't completely clean either. He was still afraid of his parents enough to not act out on most of his feelings, but he wasn't entirely innocent either, although that didn't matter enough to him to ever reach out to his parents again despite there being instances when he wanted to because being an emotionally stranded teenager in a totally different country was a lot to handle. His anger--and while he wouldn't attest to it, his hurt--over the fact that his parents never reached out to him eventually made it a lot easier to resist the urge. It had gotten so easy, in fact, that answering the phone was now the issue.

But he was trying not to think about that, he reminded himself as he shook his head, the best substitute for ignoring his thoughts until he could actually smoke. Part of him felt a little improper by not staying around longer, but when he got the text from Nick, it made it a lot easier to slip out. He didn't have anything against his friend, but Roman wasn't in the mood for forced socialization. In reality, Roman really just wanted to go back to his place and smoke, but as he walked down Stanton, Nick being only a seven minute walk from where he was, his stomach protested loudly. Another unfortunate side effect from being so anxious was his loss of appetite. Just because he didn't want to eat didn't mean he didn't, and the pain in his stomach did get to a point where he was basically forced to consume something because starving was never a fun thing to experience. Fortunately for him he was able to keep down everything he ate, which was a good sign to him that things weren't as bad as he was making them out to be because when things got really bad, he couldn't keep anything on his stomach, which only further suppressed his appetite. Smoking definitely helped with the appetite issue though, but munching on snacks couldn't substitute an actual meal, especially not after weeks had passed on such a diet. As of current, he hadn't eaten anything but a bowl of ramen since yesterday, which wasn't too bad in his mind because that was as close to a regular meal as he could get when he was sober. The sound of meatballs didn't appeal to him, whereas normally he would eat just about anything put in front of him, but the violent grumbling in his stomach was signal enough that he would need to suck it up. It wasn't as bad as he was making it sound since at least he'd be able to chill with Nick, which would probably make eating a lot easier since he'd be distracted talking to him.

When he was a block away, he realized he hadn't responded to Nick yet, but still decided against it since he was so close. He was hoping the guy was still there after no response for a few minutes, and lucky for him, he was. He spotted Nick relatively quickly since he was seated just by the window and he offered a quick wave. Sliding into the seat across from him, he mused, "Kind of early for you, isn't it?" As if he was one to talk. Despite living in the same apartment, he hadn't actually seen too much of Nick recently, but if appearances were to be trusted, the guy looked well enough. It wasn't that Roman was worried about him or anything, but he still cared enough to like seeing that his friend appeared to be doing okay. "You've got that post-deal glow, so I guess you'll be paying." Of course, Roman was only kidding, and if anything, was just talking out of his ass. When he had crossed Nick earlier in the day back home, Roman had asked if he had any deliveries, and once he mentioned that he would be in the Lower East Side, Roman had mentioned he would be as well, though he hadn't gone into details why. Roman didn't know if he was still going to be in the area when he came through, not that he planned on doing anything if so, but catching up was still nice, if for nothing less than just to have a change of scenery. "I can honestly say I've never heard of a meatball shop before," he said with an amused look on his face. To think that just because this was his first time that none of them would exist back home was daft, and he knew that, but the concept of it even existing was still new and funny and American to him. "Did you already decide what you were getting?"

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✧ NICK MORENO ✧
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Nick had been seated by the window, a spot that was preferable to him because he was assuming at that point, that Roman wasn't coming. Only a few minutes had passed since he had texted the guy, but he was already at the restaurant, so even if Roman answered in ten minutes saying he'd come down, it would be too late by then. He figured that this meal would be spent alone, so being able to people watch while eating would be ideal. He had passed along his drink order to the waitress as soon as he sat down, which was why he had missed spotting Roman coming into the restaurant, but he was pleasantly surprised when he saw the guy approaching his table soon after.

"If the last few weeks say anything, the demand for coke has never been higher than it is right now, so I'm in a good mood, yeah," he offered with a smirk. Money definitely wasn't an issue right now, but it never was for Nick, and that was only because he didn't care about money. He didn't not care about it in the way that rich people did, where money wasn't an object and they had so much of it where they could literally afford anything. He just didn't value money that highly. He didn't dream of being a millionaire, and was content with having enough money to pay his rent, eat as much food as he pleased, and buy nice shoes or clothes occasionally. He had a backpack full of cash stuffed in the back of his closet, but that was as close to a savings fund as he thought that he was ever going to get. In a city like New York, regardless of how many dealers they were as competition, there was always lots and lots of people willing to buy drugs, so it was an industry that kept Nick afloat. He had a fair amount of territory after doing this for a few years, so his cash flow was steady as long as he put in the work. "I think I'm gonna get a hero and spaghetti," he said, his tone a bit uncertain since he hadn't really looked over the menu well. He had heard about the place before Roman, obviously, but places like this still seemed somewhat odd to him to. Nick was a simple guy, and places like this seemed just as silly to him as they probably did to Roman. He didn't get the point in paying what he could only imagine was typical sky-high NYC rent prices just to sell meatballs (or to primarily sell them). However, even if the quality of the food was good enough to justify it in itself, he knew that in today's culture, the novelty of the idea of a place like this was probably also what lured people in. It wasn't a typical diner or Italian restaurant or sub shop. It was unique, something to tell your friends about, and the kind of place that Nick probably wasn't alone in just wanting to try out once to see what it was about.

"What've you been up to? Didn't expect you to be down here too." The question was posed lightly and casually, simply what it was, with no hidden agenda. Even if Manhattan was a small island, it felt big sometimes because there was a lot of stuff packed in it tightly. You could walk down your apartment's street and pass five fast food joints, two coffee shops and a handful of grocery and drug stores in a ten minute span. Unless you had a purpose to go to a specific destination, there usually wasn't much of reason to have to commute too far. They were a fifteen minute subway ride away from home, and though that wasn't too far, it was an unjustified distance to be without a reason. As far as Nick knew, Roman's gym wasn't down here, so he assumed that he was probably meeting up with a friend or something, but he was still curious, and also just trying to maintain conversation.

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ROMAN || KILLENS
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Hex code: #11519E
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Roman wasn't a very picky person when it came to food. And since he didn't really have an appetite for anything, it made the decision making process all the more easier. He did study the menu a little harder than he typically would have just because he did want to see if there was something that could interest him, but he quickly just picked the first things that stood out once he understood how the menu worked. There was one thing he always found room for, and that was dessert. He still wanted to try a full meal, but if it came to the point where he couldn't stomach it, he figured something sweet would be his next best bet. Plus, he just liked checking out the dessert menu when he went out. If it was included in the main menu, it was usually the first page he turned to. This time it was an afterthought, but he looked at the section more seriously. He settled for something simple: their milk and cookies, but instead of milk, it came with a White Russian. And in an odd moment of kindness, he decided he would get something for Brooke as well. Brooklyn wasn't known to be very nurturing, but she did tend to look out for Roman in very thoughtful ways. That wasn't why Roman decided to get her anything, but just because it was something he wanted to do. While they weren't very affectionate towards each other, Roman did still think of her as a friend, and as a friend, it wasn't that strange to just do something nice for that person. He decided to get the same dessert for her as well since he doubted meatballs was really something she was interested.

He planned on just putting in the order towards the end of the meal since he would be taking it to go anyways, but since he also intended to just drop it by Brooke's when he got back to the apartment, he thought it made sense to check if she was home, or even awake.

To: Brooke
you at your place?

"Yeah, I was actually just a couple minutes down the street," Roman said as he moved the menu away from him. As he looked outside he quietly thought to himself that that short walk from his friend's to here would have been a good opportunity to get in a smoke. It wasn't urgent, nor did he feel like getting up and standing outside for a few minutes just to do that. He turned back to Nick, shrugging his shoulder to indicate that nothing had really been up, despite that being far from the truth. Nick was also one of Roman's closest friends, but the two of them also had a friendship that wasn't typical of what you saw with a lot of other friendships. Roman wasn't above sharing his feelings with Nick because of fear of feeling weak as guy. Roman was just more of an internal person, and not only that, was someone who didn't like appearing like he was struggling. A lot of it was from pride, but as he got closer to Nick and Brooklym, another part emerged and that was from him actually caring about the two and not wanting to cause any issues. Of course, a friend that would expect you to keep all your troubles to yourself because they didn't want to deal with them was not someone to call a friend, but Roman was good at finding ways to rationalize things so that he had an excuse to keep things bottled. That wasn't to say he even really had a desire to open up though. As strange as it seemed to be so closed off, even with your closest friends, it seemed just as strange to him to want to be vulnerable. Additionally, the two of them tended to mirror each other's personalities and he liked how chill and calm things tended to be with Nick. In some ways, he liked to maintain that feeling and not worry about other things on his mind. It wasn't so much that he felt he couldn't open up to Nick because of Nick, but also because he enjoyed being able to just eat meatballs for no stupid reason and be able to take his mind off things without feeling like he was trying to take his mind off things. "Just visiting a friend from school I hadn't seen in a while."

He didn't bother to mention exactly why he had gone to visit his friends. His general response was enough for it to seem like he had traveled a 15 minute subway ride out just to see someone which, by Roman standards, would suggest that that person was important to him. In reality, quite the opposite was true. Calling the guy a friendly associate would have been a stretch in Roman's mind, but that was coming for someone who didn't like people in general, so what it took for him to consider someone a friendly associate was probably a lot more than it took for most others. "But to be honest, I forgot how annoying that guy is. He's like the male version of Chanel just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. I had to get out of there before I shot myself in the head." Bringing Chanel up, on top of the discussion of drugs just second prior made him think of Makayla. Whether that was a good thing or not was debatable, but he was reminded of her and how much she seemed to smoke. He knew that Nick sold to her and had mentioned how the girl could handle her weed, and for no other reason than curiosity, he entertained his wonder. "Have you seen Makayla recently? I don't know why I thought you and her smoked a few times," he said. "I could just be making shit up." He thought to himself how he himself hadn't seen her in...probably a couple of weeks? Which wasn't surprising, but the last time he did communicate with her was before that incident at her place with Holly and the random guy. Holly was still alive, so he assumed everything worked out, but it was a crazy enough experience that it made him still shake his head even now when he thought about it. And, in an out of character move for Roman who was typically more calculative and tight-lipped, went ahead and brought it up, not thinking about the definite potential for it to open up more questions. "I was at her place one night and some weird shit went down when she wasn't there and I thought for sure she was going to come knocking on the door ready to gut me. I think that was when Chanel came over looking for you for some weed."

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Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
Outfit: This (left) with this
Hex Code: #db0083

It was only by luck that Holly was actually walking in the direction towards home once she left the ice cream shop. She had no idea where she was going, and even if she had walked these streets before with Makayla at one point or another, she never paid enough attention to be able to recognize that now. It was only after walking about ten minutes that she remembered that she was supposed to be taking the subway, and that as she walked, she needed to be on the lookout for a subway station. At the very least, she did remember that she needed to take the B or D train and transfer to the E train at the Washington Square station, but now as she walked further from that route, the trains she needed to take would likely differ even if she did cross paths with a subway station. Even if being lost would have been a scary feeling, that wasn't what was upsetting Holly. She typically struggled with realizing when people weren't interested in socializing with her. It was a good example of "ignorance is bliss" because even if other people could cringe at that lack of realization, because Holly didn't pick up on it, she thought that almost everyone was a good person and a friend. People were friends to her by default, in her mind, until they did something to prove otherwise. Today, and likely thanks to her new medication focusing her a bit better, she picked up on it faster than she ever had before (even if it still took the girls being quite direct about it for her to realize it). The sting of rejection was bad enough, but given that it was something that Holly dealt with so infrequently, and also considering how genuine she was in her own reactions with people, it hurt even worse. To her, the only logical explanation for why those girls didn't want her around was because they could somehow tell that she was on this medication, and it was making her unlikable. Never before had anyone told her to go away (outside of Brooklyn, maybe, but to Holly, Brooklyn was joking 99% of the time that she said that.

She passed by restaurants, a tech shop, a Starbucks, and a store with lingerie in its windows, among other things, as she aimlessly walked. She was preoccupied with her emotions, upset and somewhat angry. She walked close to the buildings, trailing a hand against the windows as she walked past them. Had Makayla been there, she would've told her to stop it, probably citing that she should because there was no need to be touching and catching germs from everything, or because stores didn't want her fingerprints all over their windows. Makayla wasn't there though, but oddly, Holly caught view of another familiar face. Or two, actually! Nick and Roman were sitting inside one of the shops that she stood in front of, and although her bad mood was still present, the excitement of familiarity masked it for a moment as a smile reached her face. Obnoxiously, she banged her fist on the glass window that separated her from the boys to catch their attention (and probably that of any other people in the surrounding area of the restaurant too). She didn't wait for their reaction before heading inside of the shop, deeming it unnecessary to even look up and read the name of the shop she was entering. "Hello little boys!" she announced with a laugh as she hurried past the hostess to the table that Roman and Nick sat at. "Why are you near my school?!" she asked with another laugh, because the "absurdity" of them being near her school seemed funny somehow. "Are you guys on a date?! Brooklyn told me that you're gay!" she said, quite seriously as she looked at Nick, before adding, "I wish she was here!"

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✧ NICK MORENO ✧
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Nick simply nodded at Roman's explanation for being in this part of town. It wasn't a reason that warranted any further questioning or thought on his part. Roman was a grown adult just as much as Nick was, and even if he ever felt like he had reason to worry about the guy, he rarely actually addressed it with him. It played in part due to his own personality. Nick was non-confrontational for the most part. When he was set off, there was no going back, but in situations that didn't rely on anger, he often acted very neutrally, and remained un-involved for as long as possible. When they had been dating, sometimes he would discuss Roman with Brooklyn, but she was fairly similar to Nick when it came to their mutual friend. All three of them had their vices and demons, so it felt hypocritical to act like any one was worse than the other. None of them had jobs that would keep them afloat into adulthood, at least to an extent where they could live good lives. Brooklyn probably qualified as being an alcoholic, Nick couldn't go a day without smoking, and who knew what Roman was on. Nick truly didn't know exactly what kind of drugs Roman used outside of the "excusable" ones that he occasionally hooked him up with, and a big reason for why he didn't know was because he didn't want to know. There was a considerably less amount of guilt involved with dealing hard drugs to strangers or people who were simply seen as customers, over dealing them to friends.

"Yeah, yeah, I have," he said, nodding once more as Roman brought up him smoking with Makayla. Her name felt random being brought up, especially in the context that Roman was bringing it up in. His memory wasn't crystal clear, and a lot of days blended into each other for Nick, but he vaguely remembered going out with Chanel and Makayla a few weeks ago. Where Roman had been to him during that time was unknown to him, but as he tried to follow the vague story, it didn't make sense. If Nick had been with Makayla and Chanel, what the hell was Roman doing in their apartment? "What the hell were you doing over there?" he asked, voicing his question out loud. Holly's involvement didn't even cross his mind, but he couldn't disregard her existence for long, because it seemed like his thoughts (or lack thereof) had spoken her into existence.

The loud banging on the glass right beside him nearly gave him a heart attack. He had been looking at Roman, and then had glanced towards the waitress on the other side of the shop, so he hadn't had a chance to watch the bright red hair that would have prepared him for something like that. The chance of running into Holly in this big city anyway, especially a considerable distance from home, was slim in itself. She came in quickly and was speaking before anyone could really react, and when she referenced her school, he supposed that her presence made a little bit more sense. Seeing her without Makayla, though, was odd. Walking home from school was an innocent enough event, and probably the only situation that Nick could understand Holly being alone for. Despite being sixteen, and being old enough to navigate the entire city on her own, Holly obviously was not capable of what most sixteen-year-olds were. Her mere demeanor and the way she was speaking right now in a public place (that she hadn't been invited into) spoke to that.

He looked at Roman for a second with a taken back and confused expression, really unsure of how to react to this. Unlike Roman, Nick wasn't the type to typically be snarky or abrasive towards Holly. At the same time, he was no Makayla or Cara who was capable of coddling and comforting her. He typically only interacted with Holly through Brooklyn or Cara, when he had been living in that apartment. He wasn't good with kids because he really didn't know what to do with them, and in terms of that, Holly definitely counted as a kid. "Brooklyn lied when she told you that. I'm not gay," he explained, noting how bizarre it felt to even have to say that out loud. Glancing back towards Roman, unsure of how to proceed, he looked back to Holly. "So, uh, are you on your way home?"

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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
Outfit: This (left) with this
Hex Code: #db0083

Holly didn't believe that Brooklyn would lie to her, but she didn't fixate on Nick's gayness after he denied it. She hadn't been saying it to tease him in the first place, and had only brought it up in a factual manner, so it didn't seem worth the argument. Because Brooklyn fed Holly derogatory comments here and there about Nick, and because she had a few personal encounters with Roman to make her feel a certain way about him, she wasn't as thrilled to see these boys as she would have been to see anyone else. In fact, Holly wasn't even sure if they counted as friends (and that said something, given how loose her criteria for friends was). Still, they were familiar to her at a time when she was already feeling down (and lost), and she didn't necessarily dislike them either.

"Yes," she responded, nodding confidently to Nick. While his question probably came with a similar tone that the questions of the girls from a few minutes ago came with, it had taken Holly a few minutes with them to pick up on being unwanted, and the same would go for here too, unless one of the boys were more direct with her. "I am on my way home..." she repeated, sounding more unsure that time, as she had to remind herself that that was what she was supposed to be doing. She wasn't supposed to be inside of some restaurant talking to Nick and Roman. She was supposed to be on a subway heading back to West 14th Street. She didn't know how to do that now, though. Unlike how it worked farther up town, she was still low enough where the street names didn't have numbers. If she walked up a few more blocks, she would (possibly) eventually realize that after 5th Street comes 6th, and after 6th comes 7th, and so on. There was a strong chance that she wouldn't even make it that far without getting distracted again, and she was mildly aware of that. "I need to talk to Brooklyn first though! It's an emergency. Can you ask her to come here? Or I'll use your phone to talk to her!" Brooklyn would know what to do, Holly thought. She was smart.

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ROMAN || KILLENS
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Hex code: #11519E
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Roman wouldn't say he disliked Holly. Even for him that would be a bit extreme because to him, like everyone else, she was a kid and she didn't do enough for him to genuinely dislike her. That being said, he wouldn't say he liked her at all either. Even if he wasn't trying to be mean, he probably he less good things to say about her than bad things, and not in a way that was damning to her character, but in ways that weren't serious enough for him to hold any vendetta against her. She was hyperactive, annoying, had no boundaries and no filter (and not in the way he generally respected, like with Brooke). Chanel was quite similar and he would more assuredly say he disliked the girl, but with Holly, as with most things regarding the girl, things were different with her and he understood enough that she wasn't intentionally trying to be a pain in the ass. She was endearing and innocent enough for him to not hold any actual grudge against her. Plus, if his actions from the past month said anything, he did care about Holly enough to not want anything bad to happen to her. So while he did shoot her a cold look after she startled him by tapping the glass, and then by her dumb comment about him and Nick being gay, he wasn't about to go off on her despite having the urge to flick her in the forehead. Still, while he could fathom that Holly was a unique individual with unique exceptions, he didn't have enough patience, like say Makayla or Cara, to fully accommodate to her differences. For now, he could settle with an eye roll and quietly wondering how the hell he got so lucky as to run into her.

Perhaps learning a bit from his last experience, he was more critical of her being out by herself. If she couldn't survive Disney (which he still thought was stupid given her age), then she surely couldn't maneuver New York on her own, despite growing up here, an added fact that only peeved Roman more as it made him realize just how incapable she was. He noted the uncertainty in her voice, which definitely confused him since he couldn't imagine Holly had too many things to do after school besides go home, so why she seemed unsure when she said that seemed off to him. He didn't know her or her sister's lives, but he assumed Holly didn't walk home alone, so he even questioned if she was supposed to be by herself to begin with. Then again, he also knew Makayla wasn't dumb enough to misplace her sister. Her declaration that there was some type of emergency only furthered his suspicion and made him raise his brow, newly interested in what was going on. But he also couldn't help but sigh internally as it was apparent that it would likely be a very dumb thing to just let her walk out with that confused look on her face, meaning they were stuck with her. His slip up in Disney was a dumb one as well, but it made more sense given the context of the time. Now, it didn't really make much sense for anyone besides Makayla to be watching her and he knew Makayla was good for taking care of the girl. "Brooklyn's taking a nap and doesn't like being disturbed by annoying people," Roman said matter-of-fact. "What's the emergency? Where's your sister, Holly? Don't you usually walk together or something?" The last part was just something he assumed. He really had no idea what their routine was, but he figured it wasn't that far of a stretch to assume so. While he had been annoyed that the girl wasn't able to handle being on her own back at Disney, he understood that being lost in a children's park--where there would obviously be security for that exact matter--was a lesser offense than being lost in a big city. He also felt it made sense to assume someone helped her get home because surely if Holly had been getting herself home this entire time, then Disney wouldn't have been an issue. When he ran through that sentiment again, though, he was quickly able to rationalize how that wasn't necessarily a sure assumption as anything that was loud enough, colorful enough, or weird enough would attract the girl.

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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
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Hex Code: #db0083

"If she doesn't like being disturbed by annoying people then we should probably call her from your phone, Nick!" Holly concluded. It wasn't meant to be said with any sort of shade, though it definitely was meant that way. To Holly, Nick was a bit preferable over Roman, simply because Roman had been mean to her twice in the past few months. The first was in Disney (something that Holly had not forgotten about), and the second was when he spilled wine in her apartment and got her in trouble for it (even though that wasn't what actually happened). Nick wasn't Holly's favorite person either because of the things Brooklyn had told her about him, but he hadn't personally wronged her. Then again, if she was actually thinking the logic of things through, Brooklyn would definitely deem Roman to be more preferable than Nick, since Nick was the only one of the two that she seriously seemed to talk poorly about. Not surprisingly, Holly didn't even consider that Roman was referring to her as being the annoying person. "It's a girl emergency! If it was a boy emergency I would ask you, because you're part Ro, part man," she said, laughing at her own strange joke. "But it's not! It's a girl emergency!" Holly wasn't using the "girl emergency" lie knowing that socially, men usually stopped pressing when that excuse was used. It was the awkward statement you could make to get any male teacher to let you out of class immediately, without a second question. Holly's reason for using it was far more innocent, though. She just felt like listing it as an emergency exclusive to girls would prove to Roman and Nick that their opinions on the matter wouldn't be any help.

"And I do usually walk home with Makayla but not today! I'm going home by myself because she has to help people clean their teeth! She's not going to be a dentist though. She's going to be something else! I forget the name but they help dentists... like with cleaning your teeth." The title of dental hygienist was escaping her at the moment, even though she had pressed Makayla for every detail on what she had been doing for the past few days since she started her internship. They had both been lucky that the dental office that Makayla was placed at for her internship was accommodating with their situation. Makayla was supposed to intern at her assigned site for thirty-five hours a week, from nine o'clock to five o'clock, for eight weeks. Her supervisor was allowing her to work from eight o'clock to three o'clock with no break, essentially doing thirty hours a week, and making up the missed hours at the end of the program, by doing an extra week or so. This special schedule allowed her to still drop Holly off at school in the morning, though it cut too close for her to pick her up from school. For the past two days, Holly had been waiting for thirty minutes on the steps of her school until Makayla could get there, but her sister had attempted today to let her try going home alone, after a few days of walking her through the steps to get home together. It was supposed to help Holly become more independent while also cutting down on Makayla's hectic day, but clearly, it wasn't going as well as Makayla had hoped. Unbeknownst to Holly, though, her sister had started paying $15 a month to add her iPad onto their phone plan, so with it in her backpack, Makayla was able to track Holly's movement over GPS. Makayla definitely wasn't stupid or ignorantly optimistic about Holly's capabilities.

"It's too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so why are you guys here?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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✧ NICK MORENO ✧
Dialogue Color: #bb1a39

The way that Holly responded to what had been intended as a slight dig to her from Roman was amusing, and Nick couldn't fight back a smirk as she suggested that Roman was the annoying one. Holly was definitely a funny kid. Even if Nick couldn't really understand her, and didn't know how to deal with her in an appropriate manner given her behavior a lot of the time, she was still funny. She had a lot of personality to her, if nothing else, and he didn't know where she came up with have of the things that came out of her mouth. Coming off of his appreciation for that humorous remark, and coupled with Brooklyn apparently telling people he was gay, Nick pulled out his phone and texted Brooklyn while Holly continued to talk.

To: Brooklyn
Holly just showed up alone at a restaurant Roman and I are eating at on Stanton St. Says there's an emergency and wants to talk to you.

He was purposely discrete and didn't downplay the "emergency" that Holly spoke of, even though he was pretty sure that there was no real emergency, because he figured that it would give him a better shot at actually getting Brooklyn to answer. Nice was not a word that anyone would immediately use to describe Brooklyn, but she also wasn't as evil as she sometimes seemed. Plus, Nick knew that whether she wanted to admit it or not, she had a soft spot for Holly. Even if he doubted that there was a major emergency, seeing Holly without Makayla was peculiar. He had been semi-distracted during her explanation of where Makayla was, but he probably would have struggled to follow the story regardless, especially once "dentist" was brought up. He had no idea that Makayla had ever been to college, nonetheless that she was currently taking classes, and in dental hygiene at that, so the story didn't make sense to him.

Allowing Roman the opportunity to explain why they were eating, if he chose to do so, Nick didn't wait for a response from Brooklyn, and instead, called her. He didn't bring the phone to his ear, just held it on the table so as not to draw attention to himself, until he finally saw that she answered, at the very last ring. Smiling, he handed the phone across the table to where Holly stood. "It's Brooklyn," he stated, looking back to Roman with a light smirk. "That's what she gets for calling me gay. Who the fuck has she been telling that to, anyway?" he said. He wasn't so insecure that the comment really bothered him, at least in the specifics of being gay. What bothered him, or more-so, what he was curious about, was how else she was slandering him, and to who. He deserved it, sure, but he still wanted to know what the people in the building, or other mutual friends, had apparently been hearing about him.

Just then, the waitress passed by. She looked towards Holly unsurely, probably contemplating whether she should offer another chair, but when Nick caught her eye, he shook his head, as if to dismiss that the woman had to worry about the girl. "We're ready to over, if you've got a minute," he said to her, hoping to get on with it in the politest way possible. When she confirmed that she was ready, he began. "I'm gonna get a hero with the classic meatballs, and classic tomato sauce, and a side of spaghetti too" he stated. Flipping to the drinks page, he contemplated just getting water, but now that they potentially had to deal with Holly for a few more minutes, he decided he deserved another drink. He didn't recognize any of the beer names, and wasn't into that hipster IPA bullshit. "And just a glass of Maker's Mark, neat, please."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Brooklyn West Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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Outfit: Here
Hex Code: #91415d
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H O L L Y . M A D D O N
Outfit: This (left) with this
Hex Code: #db0083
"Hi Brooklyn!" Holly said, speaking cheerfully. In this situation, one would have imagined that Holly would have immediately followed the greeting up with some explanation as to why she needed to speak with her, but she didn't. She smiled, the phone pressed to her ear, but she said nothing else, almost as if in that nanosecond, she had forgotten that it had even been her who had pushed for the call to be initiated.

"What's your emergency, Holly?" Brooklyn responded impatiently. The cheerfulness on the other end of the line was confirmation that she shouldn't have answered Nick's calls. Admittedly (though maybe not admittedly out loud), seeing a text from Nick claiming that he was randomly with Holly and that she had an emergency did make Brooklyn feel uneasy. The randomness of it in itself was enough to have her curious, albeit morbidly so. On top of that, considering that Stanton Street wasn't too close to their apartment, and that it was easy to infer that Holly had showed up at the restaurant alone and without Makayla, she had reason to believe that maybe there was an actual emergency. She had clearly given Nick too much credit though, since she didn't think he would be enough of an ass to pretend that there was one when even he must have known that there wasn't.

"I need to tell you in person. Can you come here and I'll tell you on the way home?" Holly wasn't typically someone who felt embarrassed, but for some reason, she was too embarrassed to admit out loud that she was lost. Especially in front of Roman and Nick, who she already felt were less loving than other people she considered to be friends. Maybe it was her medication, or coming off of the poor encounter with the school girls, or a mixture of both, but she was feeling less careless. Not in a way where anyone would outwardly pick it up. She hadn't suddenly become meek, but it was a change that she felt internally and she didn't like it.

"No. I'm hanging up." And yet she didn't. Not immediately at least. She paused a second to give Holly a chance to answer, because her heart wasn't as cold as she often acted like it was.

"No, no, don't! Um..." Her eyes bounced around the room as she tried to get inspiration for an excuse for why Brooklyn needed to come help her. "Roman is choking on a ball of meat!" Luckily, by then, the waitress had taken Roman's order and left, because the oddness of it probably would have attracted a concerned look. Between her not just calling it a "meatball" and clearly lying about anyone choking, it was a strange statement to make, and though she was trying to sound serious on the phone, she couldn't help but to laugh at her own claim.

Why she didn't just hang up then, she didn't even know. This whole "emergency" thing had clearly been a lie, and Brooklyn was going to punch Nick in the arm for bothering her the next time she saw him. She was tired from working all day, and the last thing that she wanted to do was speak to Holly on the phone as she laid in bed, cold with wet hair fresh from the shower, trying to relax. "I'm calling your sister." It was a statement, but also meant as a threat. This time though, she wasn't interested in letting Holly try to reason her way into wasting more of Brooklyn's time. She clicked to end the call, and went straight to texting Makayla. She didn't know where the girl could have possibly been, to allow Holly to be off running around wild on the streets of New York, but she had convinced herself after that call that it wasn't her problem.

To: Makayla
Your kid is harassing people at some restaurant on Stanton St. Sucks to be you and them.

To: Nick
Expect an invoice for my valuable time that you just wasted.

To: Nick
And don't be fucking stupid. Call an Uber, put her into it, and text her sister that she's on her way home.

"She hung up on me," Holly frowned, handing the phone back to Nick. "Can you call her back and this time, tell her she's not allowed to do that?" Deciding that there was also an alternative option, she looked towards Roman, then. "Or can you call Cara?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Maddon Character Portrait: Caraline Forrester Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno
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ROMAN || KILLENS
Outfit with this
Hex code: #11519E
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Roman shook his head at Nick, indicating that Brooklyn proclaiming Nick was gay wasn't anything to worry about. It was a short, silent version of saying 'Me too, mate. It's her thing.' and his facial expression, which was more than a snort and an eye roll, said enough. He was more surprised to see Brooklyn actually answering his phone call. He didn't know that Nick had just sent a message to Brooke, prefacing everything, so from his perspective, it seemed a lot less innocent and a lot more telling (albeit incorrectly) that she would answer his call, since she supposedly hated him so much. Roman wasn't involved in whatever it was they had going on right now, which seemed like nothing, but Roman knew, at least for Nick, that it wasn't that simple. He didn't really want to believe that Brooke despised Nick either, because even he would be surprised if she was able to just turn off her feelings for someone--especially someone like that--without so much of a blink. He wasn't necessarily hoping they'd get back together, but he did miss it being the three of them. And because of Brooke answering Nick's seemingly random call, it made him smirk and think that maybe he wasn't the only one, and reaffirmed his beliefs that Brooke didn't hate Nick as much as she proclaimed.

He missed part of Holly's faux conversation as he placed his own order, taking a beat longer as he tried finding exactly what it was his getting on the menu. He was one of those people who always seemed to forget what he was ordering, and if he didn't have his finger pressed to it, he couldn't remember. And even if he could, he still looked down to the menu to read it off. By the time he tuned back in, unfortunately not missing Holly's comment about him choking of meat, the conversation had all but ended, not surprisingly. "Shocker," Roman said where Holly declared that Brooklyn had inevitably hung up on her. Roman was keen on just watching this unfold, despite being annoyed that he was going to play babysitter, at least in part, until Makayla showed up or something else since he obviously couldn't let her just leave and wander alone in her...Holly-ness. It was a miracle that she wandered into the store they were at, because knowing her, she would have stumbled into the wrong place at the right time with the wrong crowd and ended up upside down in a ditch somewhere. However, he was only here for being patient with her presence if she didn't bother him, like she was doing now. He cleared his throat at her mentioning he call Cara, and then a few times more as though he caught something in his throat. He wasn't sure why Holly, who had the width of attention of a coin was somehow still associating him with Cara after all of these weeks. It didn't help that he had started to bring up part of what happened that night to Nick, and of course if Nick reminded him of it in front of Holly, Holly would spill everything. It probably seemed a little cruel to take advantage of Holly's wild imagination and flighty behavior so that he could gaslight and save his own ass, but he would rather than the alternative, because even with the alternative of everyone knowing, he'd still have to deal with Holly being annoying. In both situations, there was one common denominator, so he might as well use it to his advantage.

"You just don't stop talking, do you? Unfortunately, Holly, I don't bother people who obviously don't like me," he said, which was as big a lie as any, especially given that Cara was the subject at hand, and his relationship with her started by purposely trying to get under her skin. He did think that this could be a good foot-in-the-door tactic, especially since Holly technically owed him one after interrupting his night. "But if it'll get you to shut up..." He pulled out his phone, pretending to search for it even though it was still in his phone. "You're lucky I didn't delete it after Disney," he said aloud, for no other reason than to discretely explain why he had her number in the first place. Like Nick did, he sent Cara a text, assuming she would answer if it was Holly and not him.

To: Cara
i found your puppy on the other side of the city. you should do a better job taking care of her.

To: Cara
i told her she gets one phone call before i abandon her, so you should probably pick up when she calls

Holly obviously wasn't on the other side of the city, and he was being a bit mean in acting like he was actually going to abandon the girl. He wasn't sure if Cara would seriously believe that part of his messages, but he was confident that she had enough doubt and lack of respect for him that, to be on the safe side, she would play it safe. Plus, since it was Cara, he just wanted to be irritating. He clearly had no idea that she was snubbing Holly and was under the assumption that if Holly wasn't with Makayla, it was because she was following Cara around. "If she doesn't answer," he said, handing the phone to her as it rang, "You can't talk for the rest of the time, and then I'm going to call your sister and tell her what a brat you're being. Again."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Chanel Nasiri Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Ruby Barr Character Portrait: Zoey Saidi Character Portrait: Riley Paige
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#, as written by Cr33d
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