Setting
New York City
New York
New York - Host to some of the richest and most exclusive places to live, as well as a home for all those wealthy enough to afford it. It truly lives up to the saying 'New York, New York so good they named it twice.'
Minimap
northwest |
north |
northeast |
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You are here. |
east |
southwest |
south |
southeast |
New York is a part of 
The Return of Gossip Girl: A New Era..
2 Places in New York:
19 Characters Here
Sydney Vale [83] "She's going to regret saying that about me."
Sienna Alvarez [81] "I am so not here for any of this crap..."
Jane Lynch [79] "Just charge it to my credit card."
Vincent Mast [52] "She says she doesn't want me but I know she's just playing hard to get."
Persephone Soung [52] "I'm sick of being a nobody, I want to live."
Brody Wade [50]
Vivienne Hudson [42] So I went to this party last night...
Daphne Peterson [39] "It's not that I don't care. It's just that this book is very interesting, and you are less so."
Sebastian Arendale [36] "All I ask is that you not be an ass, and we'll get along just fine."
Jake Desai [35] "You're not no one until you've been talked about."
Start Character Here »
Sienna and Vivienne were both also a good few inches taller than her, but Jane still had two or three inches on both of them, so Sydney wasn't as concerned with them wearing heels. "You guys are fine," she confirmed with a smile. It wasn't unexpected for Jane to complain further about the heel ban, especially since the other were going to be wearing them, but Sydney knew she was also using the opportunity to further her own shopping addict when she claimed that she would need to get a new dress too.
If Jane's parents weren't worth so much, or if she was even just at the same level of wealth as the rest of them were, her spending habits would probably be concerning. Sydney liked buying things just as much as the next girl but Jane seemed to take that to another level and as Sydney promised herself earlier, there was no way that she was getting stuck in one of those shopping sprees before her party. Before Sydney could respond to her though, Jane had separated from the group without warning, but as she glanced back in her direction, Sydney saw that she had gone to greet Sebastian Arendale. He was a childhood friend of Jane's and even though she usually invited him to all of her parties at Jane's request, she didn't have a real relationship with him. Sydney doubted that they had many similar interests and he wasn't her type appearance-wise, so she never had a real reason to engage him in deep conversation.
"I don't have enough time to watch her try on every dress in the store so I'm using my 'get out of jail' free card on this one," she said, running her fingers through her hair again. She knew that Jane would expect someone to go with her but Sydney needed to get ready for her party and get their on time. There wasn't a chance that she was going to be late for her own party, and she knew that Sienna and Vivienne shopped with Jane frequently too, so they would probably have more patience with her there anyway.
Sydney wasn't surprised when Sienna also urged Carter to come tonight, but she maintained her smile when he said that he planned on coming. Because of his situation with Leah, she wouldn't have been offended if he decided not to come, but he was probably the only person that would apply to. Her parties were pretty exclusive, even though she did invite a few randoms to this one, and depending on who it was, Sydney would take it personally if they decided not to attend.
People were beginning to file into the school building so she followed Carter's lead and headed towards the building. "Are you guys bringing anyone tonight?" she asked, eagerly looking over at Viv and Sienna as she lagged behind Carter a bit. Talking about new guys with Viv in front of Carter probably wasn't the best idea, even if they had been over for two years. Still, she was interested in hearing if the girls had found new guys, besides Bieber, over the summer who they planned on bringing tonight.
Because they hadn't mentioned anything up until now, she guessed that they were starting the year off as being single, which Sydney was pretty much doing as well. She was hooking up with Brody Wade and was bringing him as her date tonight but it was really just for the show. He was handsome, intelligent and powerful in their school community, and his family was well-established and respected in the business world. Although he was fairly bland and definitely not spontaneous, he looked good standing next to her and he benefited her image enough that the good weighed out the bad.
Brody let out a small, almost genuine, laugh in response to Vincent's comment. Because he was focused on texting Sephy, he hadn't noticed his classmate approaching so although his presence was surprising, his words were not. Vincent Mast was undoubtedly the biggest narcissist that Brody had ever met, which said a lot, considering that Vincent wasn't someone who one would expect to be so conceited compared to everyone else. His family wasn't excessively wealthy and unlike most of his friends and the girls he got with, Vincent was actually attending Saint Jude's on a scholarship. This was something that would normally put any student at the bottom of the social totem pole but Vincent's womanizing ways seemed to bring him respect from his fellow male classmates. While this wasn't shocking to Brody, he didn't understand why a countless number of girls allowed Vincent's appearance and reputation to overshadow his terribly flawed personality.
"It's nice to see you too, Vincent," was all that Brody responded with. He wanted to ask Vince why he was so sure that Sydney would want to hookup with him this year when she hadn't for the past three years, but he wasn't going to feed into Vincent's negativity. It was unnecessary, childish and a waste of energy, and after his response, Vincent continued into the gym. Brody assumed that he would probably spend the next few minutes boasting to Colin about how clever his stupid remark was. Like most people, Brody found Colin to be amusing, but he didn't always appreciate the disturbances that he liked to cause in class. Similarly to Vincent, Colin was also a scholarship student and although Brody would never say it out loud, he sometimes felt like it was easier for Colin to joke around and waste time during class because he wasn't actually paying to attend the school. Although Brody wasn't extremely close to either of them, he sometimes actually preferred Vincent to Colin. At least Vincent had the audacity to speak his mind, despite how arrogant his thoughts may be, while Brody felt like Colin was sometimes passive to what others wanted him to do.
When his phone buzzed again, he expected it to be Sephy but was equally pleased to see that this text was from Vivienne. Although she and Sydney were good friends, he hadn't seen her at all over the summer when he hung out with Sydney. He had heard about her numerous vacations over social media and text, and it wasn't surprising. Vivienne was a jetsetter. She was well connected and especially on school breaks, it wasn't unusual for her to travel around the world to attend exclusive parties and events. Brody really enjoyed her. She was fun but not too crazy, worldly and confident, and probably one of the hottest girls at Constance. Even though he and Sydney weren't dating or really even exclusive, he still felt like it wasn't right being anything more than friends with Vivienne while he was hooking up with her though.
To: Vivienne Hudson
I got here early so I'm already in the gym lol. Come find me ;).
I got here early so I'm already in the gym lol. Come find me ;).
Just as soon as he sent the text, Sephy appeared. She didn't waste a moment before embracing him in a hug, which Brody reciprocated. "Yeah, it really has been. I haven't seen you since what... July?" he asked, surprised that it really had been that long. The few other times that he had flown into New York from California, where he spent most of the summer, Sephy either already had plans involving her internship or a family affair, or Brody was scheduled to go something with Sydney. He texted Persephone often but it was still unusual for him to realize that it had been a while since he had actually seen and spoken to her in person. "How did your internship go? I'm pretty sure that we have twenty copies of your article floating around our apartment," he added with a laugh. His mother had always taken a liking to Sephy, partly because she was one of her close friends' children and Brody's close friend, but also because she thought she was a good influence for his younger sister, Ella.
After she responded, Brody looked past her, surprised that Bastion, Daphne and Jake hadn't shown up with her. Although Brody was friends with many people from various social groups, he was closest with those four. "Where's everyone else? Don't tell me that Daphne's already in the library," he said with a grin, focusing back on Persephone. He was glad that the school year was starting. It would bring regularity and routine, and although he was sure that senior year was destined to be more drama-filled than the last three, it seemed to be beginning without a flaw.
Workout outfit | Workout song (Animals by Maroon 5) | Regular outfit | Her House | Her Bedroom
Lacey was up bright and early, getting ready for her morning jog with Brody. She had been up for a good thirty minutes getting ready; grabbing her earbuds, fully charged phone, and breakfast for not just her, but for her friend as well just in case. Looking at her watch the young girl nodded at time early time before quietly walking through the loft of her family's penthouse suite. She grabbed her ponytail holder and headband from the kitchen counter as she petted her three dogs, Vincent, Vega, and Jules on their heads as they watched her leave. Vincent, being her favorite weeped softly as she exited which made her enter the apartment just to get down on her knees and rub his neck and belly. He let out a quick but, loud bark which made Lacey jump softly before shushing him. She chuckled as she got back up and hurried out the door and into the lobby of her building. She sent her friend a text telling him to meet her in front of her building.
As she waited, she set her playlist on to workout and put in one headphone as she waited for Brody. When he finally got there, she smirked at the little pretty boy before they started their jog. Brody was by far one of the real friends she had, she could be around him without being worried about him judging her and he's the only one who knew her little secret. And if she said she didn't think he was attractive, she would be lying. But, unlike most girls she never thought about him as anything more than that cute friend. Besides, she liked guys with a little bit more of an edge something he loved messing with her about. For the next hour and a half, the pair talked as they jogged around. They talked about school starting and how Lacey was sure as hell that she wouldn't go to the party that Little Miss. Popularity, Sydney Vale was hosting. The blonde hated her and Lacey had no idea what started that on her end, but on Lace's it was when she started hearing the rumors the girl and her little friends would make up about her.
She bitched at Brody about how he could ever think about sleeping with her and why he would want to but, she always got the same answer as always. Which of course, made her roll her eyes and go back to concentrating on their run for a bit before moving on to the next topic, like all the other girls she was certain were crazy about him and hated her for being so close to him. Which she just laughed about. After a while, the pair turned around and went their separate ways to get ready for the day. Knowing that he would be done before her, she just said she would meet him there.
Later that morning
Lacey went back to sleep for a good hour before getting back up for the day with a knock at the door by her mother who was coming to remind her to take her medication. "Mom, relax. I didn't take it yesterday and I'm just fine." She assured her mom only to get a lecture for the next twenty minutes through the door of her bathroom as she took a shower. "... And another thing Lace, you should never not take your medicine! Do you know what could happen if you don't?! We almost lost you once this summer, we don't need a heart attack like that again. We almost lost you and it's like you don't care--"
"Don't care?! Mom, of course I care! I just don't need you to treat me like a baby about it, I mean what about when I go away to college?" She asked as she dried her hair before exiting to her room. "About that, your father and I were wondering if you'd consider staying in state just so we could keep an eye on you." Lacey turned towards her mother with her eyebrows raised in a way that you could tell she was surprised. "You're kidding me right?! Mom, I have offers from Stanford and the University of Florida, full ride might I add, and you're asking me to give that up... for what? So that you can treat me like a child?"
"That's not why are you know it, but look. We're talk about this later once your father gets home." Her mom left it at that as she laid Lacey's medicine down and walked out of the room. Lacey groaned before sighing and walking towards her closet to grab out her outfit for the day. From there, it didn't take her too long to get ready after she took her medicine, she put it in her purse before slipping on her outfit and drying her hair. Looking herself over, she fixed her overly curly, natural hair a bit with a little product before looking herself over in the full length mirror located next to the huge, now open glass window over looking the city. She turned to her side as she looked at the way her jeans hugged her tight curves with a smirk before grabbing her bag and heading out of her apartment building once more to head to her school. She didn't live too far and she had enough time to stop by a local coffee shop to grab a large Salted Caramel Mocha and cranberry muffin as she continued on her walk.
As she walked inside, she could the one and only Sydney Vale with her little band of followers around. She didn't have a problem with any of them except Syd and her friend, Jane. But Carter Preston, well he was just something else. He was like something that you see in a museum, something to look at never to touch, unless she wanted even more crap from Sydney and her friends.
She walked right past them, not giving any of them a second look except Carter. She offered him a small smile and wave as she moved to the side a bit more to avoid from bumping into him. Lacey looked straight ahead taking out her headphones to see if Sydney would say anything about Lace. B
But, once entering the gymnasium Lacey stopped caring as she looked around for Brody and when she spotted him hugging Sephy all she did is get his attention before make a heart with her hand and a small puppy pout. She loved messing with him about the small Asian girl. She knew she liked him and she felt like he somewhat liked her, he just didn't want to face it. Yet, but the moment he did, she would be right there saying, 'I told you so.'
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Luckily for Jane, Bastion isn't a fool, and can pick up on the hints that she doesn't really want to talk to him right now. He gives her a look that is half confused and half a mix of hurt and irritated. Of course, he can't change the way Jane is, and puts up with most things for the sake of their long-lasting friendship. So he shrugs, though his smile has waned to insignificance, "Yeah, I'll probably go. Wouldn't want the queen bee to be insulted by someone further down the ladder rejecting her invitation. I'll see you then --bye." He's rather certain that he and Jane won't have a chance to talk at the party, as she'll probably be off drinking or something with that clique she runs with, while he'll be in some other part of the party. Sydney regularly invites him to the party, something he is certain is for Jane's benefit, and while he often goes for the drinks and the inevitable blunt that will be passed around, it's less his scene. He does like to dance, though, when the party allows for it. He walks away, freeing her up to go back to Sydney and Sienna and the rest of her group. Irritation is still written on his face, but he is not one for holding on to things, instead a quick temper and a quick departure, so it fades quickly.
Back with Jake and Sephy, Daphne's expression softens. She raises an eyebrow, expression riddled with skepticism at Persephone's insistence that it won't be that bad. By all means, Daphne is an academic person. She just isn't much of a school person --take away the people and teachers who annoy her and she'd be content to spend her time here. Of course, the girl is far from alone in these sentiments, in fact likely part of the large majority of high school students. And teachers as well, probably. These thoughts send her mind back to the invite she had received to attend Sydney's Kiss on the Lips party tonight. She had been somewhat surprised upon the message being passed along, not because she and Sydney have any strong animosity but because Daphne is the last person to be invited to these things. Daphne has decided that it is perhaps some setup for Jane to mess with her, and thus start their feud anew for the school year. She wouldn't put it past her.
As soon as she, Jake, and Persephone enter into the mixer, the third of the group dashes away. The figure which she reaches, Daphne observes, is of course Brody. The young woman is less than surprised, if only because she knows the two are rather close. For a while, she had believed them to be dating, but Persephone had assured her this wasn't the case when she casually referred to them as a couple in conversation. Something about the way Persephone said it left her with doubts, however. If she had been more in tune with gossip, Daphne might have known that Brody had been hooking up with Sydney. But the only Grape Vine she's connected to is a used book store downtown. "And there goes Viola to her Duke. I don't suppose you'll be giving me the slip for some Rosaline, then?" Daphne remarks breezily, looking over towards Jake.
Bastion enters the mixer at this point, and finds it rather easy to spot Daphne and Jake, as they are still near the front of the group. He walks over to them, but his eyes land upon Persephone chatting with Prez a few yards away. He frowns very slightly as he walks up to Jake and Daphne.
AND
Sienna positively beamed when Carter actually promised her a dance and with a rather triumphant dance in her head.
"Can't wait," she told him and returned her attention to the group just as Jane managed to separate herself. She was with another group, one that included the guy from earlier. She tilted her head curiously, he really should have been familiar, especially if he hung out with Sebastian Arendale. Not that she hung out with Sebastian often or anything, but she didn't recall seeing this guy much before. Shrugging, she returned her gaze to the others.
Jake was too busy checking his phone. His Dad had started sending him more texts this summer, oftentimes wanting to hang out more than they typically did. He raised an eyebrow at Bastion's apparent friendship with Jane, who really wasn't that bad but it always surprised him how close the two were. Connections or no, the relationship was puzzling because they seemed like two very different people. People like Jane didn't hang out with people like them and well, Bastion...just didn't seem like her type. Not that Jake really knew what her type was or even cared.
He chuckled at Daphne's expression and followed Persephone and Daphne inside the school, ready to get the day over with. He hated being a bore, really, but he wasn't a fan of these unnecessary school mixers. All they did was tell them rules, classes, and all this other information that could have been sent via email. Then again, he had been excited to see his friends, so there's that. Just as they came inside, Sephy was gone and he smirked at her excitement at seeing Brody. It was obvious that the relationship was definitely closer than what Sephy originally transcribed, though Jake would have never been known as someone who delved too deep into unwanted territory. In fact, all he cared about was that Brody did right by Persephone. He grinned subtly at Daphne.
"I wouldn't dream of it, Daphne," he replied just as his phone buzzed in his pocket. Curiously, Jake pulled it out and smirked. It was a text from Vivienne, which surprised him because he thought he saw her outside along with Sydney and Sienna. Thinking back, Jake remembered having the biggest crush on Vivienne, not that he ever told her. It had never been in his character to make a move like that, especially moving in on a girl like her. Vivienne was one of the hottest girls in school and actually nice to him, which surprised him when they first met. It was more surprising when Sydney actually wasn't as bitchy, but still. He hadn't had feelings for Sydney; it had always been Vivienne. However, the crush wasn't as huge as it was before, not as all-consuming and nerve-wracking. Now, he was better with having a conversation with her. He sent a quick text.
To: Vivienne
Yeah, w/ friends. U?
Yeah, w/ friends. U?
Jake glanced at Bastion just as he came over and his brow furrowed curiously. Sebastian didn't have this face typically and he was just happy hugging his friend Jane. So, what the hell happened in two seconds?
"Hey, are you alright?"
Sienna considered Sydney's inquiry about her guest for the night. Surprisingly enough, she had thought of inviting the guy she sung to at the iHeart radio concert; he was the ultimate cutie patootie. Even her mom approved. At the same time, she didn't really feel like bringing a date. Truthfully, the idea of arriving single appealed more than being seen with a guy. Especially after the questions about who some of her songs were dedicated to, which was a very easy question if she actually chose to answer it. She shrugged at Sydney, smiling at a few classmates she remembered from last year. She peeked at Sebastian's girlfriend, still trying to figure out what the girl saw in him in any way, shape, or form.
"Didn't think I was bringing anyone," she replied honestly. "I might be able to bring Lyric, just because my publicist thought it would be good to keep up images since people know that we're good friends and I've worked with his band. Hmm, speaking of..." Sienna whipped her cell phone out, looking for a hint that Lyric was even here yet. She had told him she didn't need a ride, but his drive shouldn't have been that long. She was aware that he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of her friends; he found them all fake, which would have been true if Sienna didn't know them. Sure, she didn't always favor Sydney, but the girl was a lot better than some of these wanna-be mean girls.
To: Lyric
Hey! In school. Where r u? I didn't get a hug yet D:
Hey! In school. Where r u? I didn't get a hug yet D:
Jane felt relieved yet guilty when Bastion agreed that they could finish their conversation later that night. She wasn't sure that she would even get a chance to speak to him later on but if she did happen to come across him, she hoped that with a few drinks in her system she wouldn't be so uptight. Whether the alcohol would loosen her up enough where she would say too much was yet to be determined but at this point, Jane was ready to drink herself to a point where whatever she did say wasn't more than slurred, incomprehensible words.
Offering only a half way, she was quick to turn back in the direction she came from, only to find that her friends were already on their way inside of the building. She increased her pace, managing to catch up with them before they stepped into the gymnasium. She caught Sydney's question on whether any of them would be bringing a date tonight. "I'm single and so ready to mingle tonight," she added with a small smile. Jane was more of a drunken-mistake hookup kind of girl than one who could maintain a serious relationship with someone. When sober, she was very picky with the guys she associated with, so even if she had hooked up with a semi-decent guy the night before, he rarely met her standards the next morning. Besides that, the past few years had been chaotic enough with her own problems for her to want to add a romantic relationship into the mix.
Now that she was more emotionally stable, getting a boyfriend was definitely on her senior to-do list, but even among the hoards of wealthy and attractive boys at Saint Jude's, none of them really captured her attention. The most "qualified" guys like Carter Preston and Brody Wade had their flaws. Carter already had a kid and was Viv's ex, not to mention that he was on Sienna and Sydney's radar. Brody didn't like Jane and she didn't like him in return. He was a bore and although he was attractive, Jane was sure that if anyone was going to bring 'bad vibes' to the party tonight, it would be him. However, she kept quiet for now. There was no benefits in complaining about Sydney, in front of her anyway. Besides the obvious guys, there was Vincent who was a possibility for a hookup, although Jane would never admit it in front of her friends. He wasn't boyfriend material though, as perfectly portrayed through his betrayal towards Sienna.
When Sienna brought up possibly bringing Lyric, Jane couldn't help but to giggle. She really didn't know Lyric outside of his connection with Sienna, but his name always reminded her of the comments that Sydney would make about his mouth. He was definitely attractive, Jane would give him that much, but his lips reminded her of those that women in New York would die for. Despite the unnecessary comments that Syd would make about them, Jane guessed that they probably made him a pretty decent make out partner. "His lips look better than Kelley Yearly's, and I'm pretty sure she gets lip injections like, every other day," Jane exaggerated, referencing a fellow classmate. "Is he a good kisser?" she then said to Sienna, convinced that even though she had never admitted to hooking up with him, that she must have.
Although most of the students had now entered the gymnasium, it was large enough that it didn't appear to be packed. Friend groups could easily be picked out as they were scattered throughout the room and Jane was able to spot Bastion back with Jake and Daphne. Even if Daphne wasn't enough of a deterrent, Jane quickly moved her gaze away from them, not wanting to make eye contact with Bastion after her less than friendly encounter with him moments before. She also spotted Brody, who had just embraced Persephone Soung. With a raised eyebrow and small smile, she couldn't help but to glance over at Sydney to see what her reaction would be. From what Sydney had told her, she and Brody weren't exclusive or even dating, but she doubted that her friend would appreciate him hugging Sephy before even greeting her. As petty as it was, that was Sydney. The smallest things could set her off and getting on her bad side wasn't wise. That was evident with the next girl who entered her sight: Lacey Porter. Jane didn't like her, but Sydney's hatred towards her far exceeded Jane's. "That girl is such a loser," Jane said, eyeing Lacey with disgust as she strutted past them. It was bizarre for Jane to expect her to acknowledge them in the slightest, especially because of how many viscous rumors Sydney had started about her with no real motive, but she still disliked the idea of anyone just ignoring them.
Lyric pulled into the girls school with a smile. He pulled up to the parking lot and parked. His blond hair fell into his eyes as he walked out of the car.
To: Sia
Srry!!! I'm here now, I was picking out and outfit XD. Anyway are you in the gym?
The boy walked into the school as he headed towards the gymnasium. He spotted a few cute guys, but ignored the feeling he got. His dark blue eyes looked towards the door as he entered. He walked into it seeing a large crowd. His face lit up in a smirk when he felt the crowd's energy around him.
His dark blue eyes turned as he noticed a few people. They swarmed to him, mostly girls. "OMG We love you, can we take a picture? I mean you're really cute!!!" a girl spoke from the group in front of him. Lyric's face turned into an awkward face. "Uh, I don't do autographs...or photos." he spoke before walking away.
To: Sia
So I'm here.....where are you exactly?
Jane's question about whether he was a good kisser or not caught her attention and she looked over at Sienna inquisitively. If she had in fact hooked up with Lyric, Sydney wanted to know before the rest of the world did. "I agree, his lips are probably like pillows. If you did get with him, I want all of the details." She felt like Sienna could do a lot better than him but she wouldn't put it past her friend. Even though Sydney doubted that there was much truth in it, she liked to believe that Sienna's reputation of being promiscuous was accurate.
She was so focused on her conversation with her friends that she only noticed Lacey when Jane called her a loser. There were only two people who she could have been speaking about, so when Sydney tilted her head back and saw that Daphne wasn't in sight, she was sure it was about Lacey who was now turning into the gymnasium. "She gets uglier every year," Sydney said, shaking her head as if it were a pity. It wasn't true obviously, as Lacey was a pretty girl, but Sydney was known to use every insult in the book against her, accurate or not.
As the girls entered the gymnasium, Sydney quickly picked Brody out of the crowd. The smile that had appeared on her face disappeared just as quickly when she watched him embrace Persephone and then interact with Lacey. Who did they think they were being all over her man in public? And before he even greeted her?! She wanted to scowl and shout at the two girls to get the hell away from him, but Sydney wasn't going to lose her composure like that in front of everyone, especially when she wasn't even dating Brody. She didn't feel like Persephone or Lacey were even real competition anyway, or at least she tried to reassure herself of that. Instead, she headed towards Brody and once he released Persephone, she reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a light peck on the lips.
"Long time no see," she said with a smile before pulling away. She looked Persephone up and down before offering her a smile as well. It was disingenuous but Sydney had mastered the art of fake smiles enough that it probably came off as being real enough. "Sephy, right?" she asked, sure that it was the girl's name but wanting to make a point that she wasn't important enough for her to be sure of it. "I didn't know you two were friends. Brody's never mentioned you before," she said, a smile still apparent on her face as she pressed herself closer to Brody. He probably had mentioned Sephy before when they were hanging out and just because she was close with Brody, she did know that he was family friends with her. Still, it seemed more appropriate to show the girl that she was so irrelevant and unimportant that she had very little of an idea as to who she was. Hopefully it would give her enough of a sense to back off of Brody, at least until she decided she no longer wanted to hookup with him.
Sienna laughed when Jane exclaimed with such a cliché statement, not paying attention the first two times when her phone buzzed. When both Sydney and Jane began inquiring about her relationship with Lyric, her nose instinctively wrinkled, a rather disturbed expression on her face.
"Ewww, gross! He's like, a brother!" She exclaimed. Sienna didn't find anything particularly wrong with Lyric. His looks were definitely attractive and if his fans had anything to say about it, Lyric was definitely considered "dreamy" to some. But, in her eyes, he reminded her of Colin in a way - strictly platonic. She wasn't looking to deepen their relationship in that aspect and didn't think the thought would ever cross her mind years from now. Though, a memory of their tour days had her smirking in rememberance over a very...enthusiastic fan that couldn't keep her fans off of him. And let's not forget the celebrities. "And him being a good kisser, you might have to ask one of his fans on that. Though...he obviously did something right; she couldn't keep her hands off him."
When they approached Brody and this Asian girl she could have sworn she had seen before, Sienna only offered a polite smile before finally glancing at her phone, anticipating Lyric's arrival. She was aware that there were a good number of Constance girls who knew of him and his music, and were semi-in love with the blonde male. Not that she blamed them. He was good-looking, nice, and he could sing? Check, check, and check! Sienna smirked at the first message, rolling her eyes idly before returning her gaze to the group and only wishing that she had not.
She had just tuned in to Sydney and Jane's digs on the girl who didn't really do much to them, but whatever. At least, not to Jane anyway. It was no secret that Lacey and Sydney had the worst relationship; sure, her own with the mean girl was definitely not tame, but it was tame enough to fool everyone into believing that everything was good and dandy. Lacey and Sydney? That was World War III, but with bitchy snark and rumors that ran amok in the Constance hallways. And, though she probably would not say this in front of Sydney unless the blonde truly provoked her, but Sienna respected Lacey for her confidence and her ability to give absolutely no fucks about Sydney's high-and-mighty act. The dark beauty paid no attention to titles and would probably beat Sydney to a pulp if pushed.
Any person like that had Sienna's full respect.
And since when did Brody and Sydney have a thing? Sienna's head tilted to the right imperceptibly as Sydney practically draped herself possessively over the goody-two-shoes, who Sienna knew for a fact wasn't her biggest fan. Brody wasn't rude or anything, but they weren't friends. He apparently didn't have a thing for her lifestyle, not that he knew a thing about her lifestyle. All he saw was what she allowed him to see and if being young and having fun seemed to reckless to him, then he could go back and play Scrabble for all she cared. But she was civil enough with the man and they didn't interact much save for when the student councils of Constance and St. Jude's did a collaboration of some sort, which was fine with her. But even Sienna could feel the tension in the room and this just didn't do. It was the first day for goodness sake!
"Sephy?" She turned her attention to Persephone, stopping for a moment to admire the pretty girl's outfit before officially meeting her eyes. "Persephone, right? We took a math class together last year, I think. How was your summer?" Sienna knew that this probably felt misplaced amidst the animosity that Sydney was emanating, but she didn't care. Besides, wasn't Sydney just flirting with Carter? What the hell was that? Her phone buzzed the last time and she glanced at it for Lyric's text only to hear a few girls start squealing and exclaiming. Glancing over her shoulder, Sienna grinned and waved, trying to get his attention.
Even during his responsibility-free summer, John had made a habit of waking up early every day. Today was no different so after showering and getting dressed in a red v-neck shirt, black pants, and black Vans, John left his family's apartment. His mother's talk show aired live at nine o'clock every morning, so she was usually gone by six, and his father's crazy schedule meant that there were days where he wouldn't get home until one in the morning and would be gone again for work by five that same morning. Josie had left a few weeks earlier to return to Illinois where she attended Northwestern University, so John was used to waking up to an empty apartment.
The biggest different between a summer morning and a school year morning for John was that in the summer, he would smoke before beginning his day. Even though today wasn't a day filled with classes, he didn't want to risk going to school high so he instead strolled through Central Park, entering on the Upper East Side and exiting on the Upper West Side. A few blocks away from there was his favorite deli which John would swear by when it came to the perfect New York bagels. After paying for his usual order of an everything bagel with butter and a bottle of Gatorade, John followed his path through the park and back to the Upper East Side. Instead of returning to his apartment which was located only a few steps away from the park on Park Avenue, he continued walking through the park, lengthwise now, until he reached The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Many of the Constance girls used it as a place to eat lunch but since Saint Jude's was located in Brooklyn, John took advantage of eating breakfast there most mornings.
He took a seat on one of the many steps and began to eat his food. He was sure that most of his peers would be jumping at the opportunity to see their friends again after a long summer apart and while he too was eager to see a few people, he wanted to indulge in his last few minutes of solitude before returning to the social world. Once he finished his bagel, he knew he didn't have much time to spare so he made his way to Constance which conveniently, was only a few blocks away. He was somewhat relieved to see that by the time he got there, the students of both genders were filing into the girls' school. It meant that he didn't have to deal with too much small talk but even though he knew the purpose of today was to greet his new professors, John was sure that he would stumble across friends inside the school as well.
He headed for the back of the crowd that was slowly entering the school but before he could make it up the first few steps, he felt a light tap on his back. Turning his head back, he expected to see Lyric or Persephone, or one of the others who he was familiar with, but instead he was greeted by an unfamiliar face. She was a fairly average, yet pretty looking girl but her pale, freckled skin and ginger colored hair was something that would have made her memorable had he seen her before.
"Excuse me," were her first words, which were quickly followed up with, "Is this where the back to school mixer is being held?". Although John thought that it was pretty obvious, considering the crowd of students entering the building, he nodded reassuringly. His suspicions were confirmed that the girl was new and John wanted to be as helpful as possible.
"Yup, in the gymnasium," he confirmed with a smile. "I'm John Toranzo and I'm guessing you're new here?" he said, offering her his hand. Although a simple wave and exchange of names was usually a sufficient introduction for teenagers, John's father had drilled the habit of the handshake into his mind years ago.
"Is it that obvious?" she joked after his comment about about her being new. John watched as she ran her hand through her curly hair before returning his handshake. "Kaitlin Kingsley," she introduced herself as. After they entered the building and approached the gymnasium doors, she turned to him and said, "Well, thanks for the help," before disappearing past him.
"See you around," he responded. Instead of following her towards the waiting teachers, John turned and made his way towards Lyric, who he had spotted a moment earlier talking to a group of younger girls. He was now alone though and focused on his phone, so he probably hadn't seen John either until then.
"Lyric," John said, catching his attention as he approached. He grinned at his friend, happy to see the guy who was probably his closest male friend, after not seeing him for most of the summer. John had spent a majority of August and early September at his father's family's homes in Spain. Between that and whatever had been keeping Lyric busy all summer, the two had barely seen each other and kept up through the occasional text message. "How've you been, man?" he asked, although his eyes had managed to drift away from Lyric as he scanned the cliques that had already formed in the room. He spotted Persephone, another person he was eager to see, standing a good distance away with an unlikely crowd Sydney, Sienna and Jane, and Brody who was less surprising. Knowing that Lyric probably wanted to see his good friend Sienna, he pointed them out and said, "Want to go see what they're doing?"
"Katie! Would you hurry up?! I don't want to be late for my first day of school!" Jayden yelled after his fist banged against the bathroom door a few times. It was the third time he had done so in the last ten minutes and even though she knew that he was right, that she was cutting it close, she was beginning to get annoyed with him. He was eager to get to school because seventh grade was still one of those worry free grades where as long as you looked enough like them, kids would accept you. Jayden would fit in fine, especially since he was only going to be attending a public school, but Kaitlin was starting her first day at Constance Billard today.
God, it sounds so weird to even think that. I'm going to The Constance Billard School for Girls, the most elite school in all of Manhattan. Hell, maybe in all of the country. And I'm going to be a student there. If only my so-called friends could see me now, they'd realize who the real cool one is.
Kaitlin had been absorbed in her own thoughts, some positive and others more nerve-wracking, when she realized that her brother's pleads for her to get out of the shower were probably accurate. When she did manage to get out of the steaming water and put on her outfit for the day, she realized that Jayden had been more than honest when he said they were running late. She was supposed to be at school in less than half an hour and the bus ride there would take nearly that long, plus she had to drop her brother at his school first.
"I'm hurrying, Jayden! Did you pack the lunch dad left for you in the fridge? Are you sure you have all of your supplies?" Kaitlin asked through the closed door as she applied a light layer of makeup to her face. She had planned on blow drying and straightening her naturally curly hair but now that she was running so late, she knew that was out of the question. Beyond her fair, freckled skin, her hair was her next least favorite feature. Back at home, she was always getting compliments on it but she didn't think that having Taylor Swift type curls were going to help her fit in at her new school, especially when Swift herself abandoned the look years back.
She managed to get a few minutes of blow drying in, guessing that by the time she did get to school, her hair would at least be dry. Her brother was already waiting by open apartment door when she appeared out of the bathroom, so Kaitlin hurried to grab her cell phone and purse before ushering him out the door. After arriving in New York two months ago, Kaitlin had tasked herself with learning how to get around, or at least to her school and her brother's, and a few other spots she guessed she would be frequented. Luckily, Jayden's public junior high school was only a few blocks from their apartment so after parting ways with him at his school front, Kaitlin hurried to the nearest bus stop that would take her from midtown to the upper east side.
Twenty-five grueling minutes later, she arrived at Constance Billard. Had she not been in such a rush, she would have spent a good few minutes admiring the school. She had practiced her commute multiple times over the summer before the school year even started, but today was supposed to be memorable. It was the first day that she would be going inside the school and actually being a student there. It was the start of something, but she was in too much of a hurry to appreciate the moment.
She did breathe a sigh of relief when she saw that there were still students entering the building, signaling that she couldn't be that late, and as she approached the main entrance, she worked up the courage to ask a boy if she was in fact in the right place. He wasn't with anyone else either so Kaitlin felt like he was probably her best shot at confirming she wasn't in the wrong building without making too much of a fool of herself. He introduced himself as John Toranzo but had obviously caught on to the fact that she was a new student. Still, he was nice enough and Kaitlin was glad to at least know that she was in the right place at the right time.
However, her confidence subsided again when she entered the over sized gymnasium and was once again overwhelmed with confusion. Everyone seemed to be in standing with their friends and Kaitlin instantly felt like she had made a mistake coming to the school when she saw groups of kids laughing and talking as if they had known each other forever. Attending a new school for senior year probably wasn't ideal socially, since most friend groups were already formed by then, and this school appeared to be no different, or even worse in terms of having cliques than her old school was. At her old school though, Kaitlin had been a part of a clique and here she was starting over as a nobody again.
When he and Vincent crossed paths with Brody Wade in the gym, Colin pretended to be occupied with his phone. He was right in expecting Vince to have something to say to their class president because as soon as he spotted him, Vincent made a snide remark about how Brody could lay off Sydney now that he was back. Colin didn't care for Brody much either but he didn't want to be dragged into another one of Vincent's fights, especially not when the school year had only been in session for a matter of ten minutes.
"I still don't get why the son of a dude who owns an entire brand of wine is the last one to wanna drink at a party. He's probably got an endless supply of alcohol at his house and yet he doesn't even drink a beer when we're at a party," Colin said to Vincent once they were out of ear shot of Brody. "Speaking of beer, are you going to get Toranzo to buy us shit for tonight?" Although he knew that Sydney would probably have an open bar at the club she had rented out for the party, like most people, Colin was planning on drinking ahead of time. Especially if he wanted to make a move on Jane tonight, he was going to need some liquid confidence to help him get there. He and Vincent both possessed fake I.D.'s so they technically could buy alcohol on their own, but John Toranzo was made of money and had always been willing to supply them with alcohol for free in the past, so Colin didn't see why it would be any different this year. Besides, his apartment was a lot nicer than Colin's child-infested one and Vincent's small bachelor pad, so they normally went to his place before any parties. Even though they were kind of using him for his money, Colin actually liked John. It wasn't a strong friendship but they got along well enough and Colin could always count on him being up to smoke some weed when he was in the mood.
"I'm gonna try to talk to Mr. Edwards," he said after Vincent responded to his question about alcohol. Although he and Vincent probably had a lot of the same teachers this year, Colin knew that it was better for him to talk to his professors without Vince there. He tended to be less serious when around other people and that was usually when the inappropriate jokes would come into play. Not wanting to ruin his chance at a successful senior year before it even started, Colin made his way to the teacher stalls alone.
Colin's comment about getting alcohol from John Toranzo reminded him that he did in fact need to ask John to get them drinks and let them come over before Sydney's party. "Good call," he said with a nod as he pulled out his iPhone. He found John's name listed under "El Torro", an ironic nickname he had given him years back, and sent him a message.
To: El Torro
We good to come to your place tonight before the party? You should grab some Bacardi.
We good to come to your place tonight before the party? You should grab some Bacardi.
"Alright, I'll see you around," Vincent responded as he and Colin parted ways. He also wanted to speak to some of his new professors but didn't need to put as much of an effort in as Colin would. Since he was attending Saint Jude's on a scholarship, Vincent always put a lot of effort into maintaining high grades. He didn't want to risk being kicked out of the school and he actually took pride in doing well, so he rarely made a bad impression on teachers as Colin tended to do.
Rather than go to one of his new teachers, Vincent headed to his eleventh grade history teacher, Mr. Wilton's stall. He was also the head lacrosse coach and although the the game season wouldn't start until the spring, the Saint Jude's team usually started practicing in mid-fall. They were one of the best teams in their division and Vincent needed to play in a few out-of-school tournaments this semester to reassure college scouts that he was a worthwhile player.
His coach and former teacher was glad to see him and offered him a firm handshake as Vincent approached.
"Vincent, it's nice to see you. I heard you played in the Maryland tournament this summer with Team Long Island?" he asked, referencing the tournament team that Vincent had been a part of since before attending Saint Jude's.
"Yeah, it was a good time. You should've seen Clay in goal, I think he let in like three goals or something over all ten games. We're going to run the conference this year," Vincent said with a grin. Saint Jude's was a good school not only in terms of academics, but also athletically. They had won the conference and country championship titles in lacrosse for the past seven consecutive and as captain this year, Vincent wasn't going to let that fall apart in his hands.
"I hope so," Mr. Wilton replied. "I heard Fordham Prep got some freshman kid to play goalie for them this year so Colin better keep on his game. On the field and off." Vincent knew that he was referring to the frequent detentions that his friend received from his funny, but wrongly placed jokes in class. He nodded reassuringly and as an eleventh grade student approached to speak to Mr. Wilton, he politely excused himself and headed away from the stall.
Upon releasing Brody from the embrace, "And those were probably the only copies sold," Sephy giggles and is about to reply to his comment on Daphne before she's cut off by none other than Sydney Vale, swooping in while she's mid-sentence and kissing Brody.
Persephone frowns, she had no idea that Brody and Sydney were, what, dating? He definitely didn't seem like the mean girls type and Sephy was utterly bewildered. Why didn't he tell her about Sydney. She'd heard a few people talking about Brody hooking-up with someone over the Summer but she didn't buy into the gossip and besides, Sydney Vale, was the bitchiest, most conceited girl Sephy knew, and she went against almost all of Brody's morals. What on Earth could he possibly see in her?
"Sephy, right?" Sydney asks, sending her a smile with an icy undertone, to which Persephone nods, a pang of jealousy coursing through her as Sydney presses herself against Brody, "I didn't know you two were friends. Brody's never mentioned you before," Now that stung. Her and Brody were old friends, and yet he'd never bothered to mention that to Sydney, maybe Persephone thought they were better friends than they were.
"Oh, really?" Persephone sends Brody a cold glance, "Well we've known each other for years, much longer than you two have, I suppose." She says, faking nonchalance and returning Sydney's false smile.
After a while, Persephone has to avert her jealous gaze from Sydney and Brody, which is when Sienna spoke up, "Persephone, right? We took a math class together last year, I think. How was your summer?" Completely taken aback by this suddenly friendly outburst, especially after her friend was clearly being very cold with Persephone, she can't help but blurt out a confused "What?" Luckily, Sienna's attention was already on someone else as she waved to Lyric, a guy Persephone vaguely knew of for his fame, but had barely spoken to.
All Persephone wanted right now was to get away from the group that had surrounded her all of a sudden. Glancing over at Lyric, Persephone spots John and sees her escape. "John!" She calls over to him with a wave; walking a few paces towards him before turning back to the group, "Sorry I have to go, see you around, Brody." Persephone smiles, ignoring Sydney completely.
Once she got to where John stood and Sephy smiles and pulls him into a tight hug.
Releasing him from her grip, Persephone sighs, puffing out her cheeks, "Well that was intense," She frowns, sending another look over to where Brody and Sydney stood; feeling an immense amount of jealousy for the girl.
Standing behind Sephy, Brody could see Lacey silently making fun of his relationship with Persephone. He had seen her just a few hours earlier when they went for their usual morning run, so he had no need to greet her enthusiastically. Before responded to Sephy, he did manage a grin and a playful shake of his head to Lacey, signaling that he thought she was crazy.
Brody managed to get a laugh out and was ready to reassure Brody that her article was great when Sydney approached from behind him. Before he could react, she had wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. He couldn't help but to smile as she greeted him. There was something so attractive about Sydney and even though Brody didn't feel real love towards her, there was definitely some lust there. What guy wouldn't want to be hooking up with the most popular and powerful girl at Constance Billard?
Although he was happy to see her, he didn't appreciate the way that he treated Persephone, who clearly felt the tension as well because after confirming that she was in fact friends with Brody, she quickly escaped to John Toranzo. Brody knew that he had definitely brought Sephy up before to Sydney and had even given her a copy of her Elle article, but he wasn't surprised by her act. It was typical of Sydney to make a point that she paid little to no attention to those who were below her, and it made Brody glad that Lacey hadn't actually approached him earlier, since he knew good and well that she was the last person to be a fan of Sydney.
He wasn't great friends with Sienna and Jane, but he offered them a polite wave before turning back to Sydney. It wasn't that he hated them or had any real, personal problem with them, but they just weren't his type of people. They spent much of their time partying and drinking and after hearing a few stories from Sydney, he simply didn't think that he had much in common with them.
"Come on, I've definitely mentioned Sephy to you before. She's the one who wrote that magazine article? She runs the fashion blog?" he said quietly to Sydney once Sephy left. He was sure that she would continue to play dumb, having mastered the "I'm secretly a total bitch but I know how to make myself look so innocent" thing long ago, so he knew his efforts were futile. Besides, as much as he hated Sydney's superior attitude being directed at his friends, he did like how strong and confident she was. She had mastered the leadership qualities that he also had, but in different ways.
As he glanced back in the direction that Sephy had left in, he wished that he had said something in the moment to reassure her that he did speak fondly of her to Sydney. It had all gone too quickly though, and he hoped she wasn't upset with him over it. "You don't mind if I invite her tonight, right? She's friends with Sebastian Arendale and Daphne Peterson and I do remember seeing their names on your invite list, so it's not like she'll be interrupting anything between us anyway," he said, offering her a suggestive smile. Sephy hadn't brought up being invited to the party and after Sydney and her recent interactions, he was even more sure that there was no way that she would have been invited originally. However, he did want to make it up to Sephy after what had just happened and he was sure she would enjoy coming to one of Sydney's infamous parties.
Jane nodded in agreement when Sienna exclaimed that Lyric was too much of a brother to her to make him think of him in any other way. She didn't have nearly as close to a relationship with him as Sienna did, and in fact, Jane probably wouldn't even acknowledge him if she saw him on the street without Sienna or another mutual friend there. Still, she knew what she meant and decided that it was a good enough answer to allow her to move off of the topic.
While Sydney marked her territory with Brody, Jane's eyes continued to wander around the gym. She returned Brody's wave only half-heatedly and didn't make an attempt to ease the tension with Persephone like Sienna did. Her distance probably wasn't even noticeable because Sephy left the group in a matter of minutes. Jane recognized just as much as everyone else that what Sydney did was wrong but she was so used to it that it didn't phase her. Sydney was her own person and Jane didn't think that it was her responsibility to chastise her after every calculated move. If that was the case, she would be doing it every minute. She and Sydney had been friends for years and just as much as she had accepted Jane's flaws, Jane accepted hers. It was just easier that way.
She did tune back in as Sydney and Brody began speaking quietly and managed to hear Brody mention that Sydney had invited Daphne and Bastion. Bastion was expected since he had confirmed to her earlier that he received an invitation and planned on coming but Daphne? Why in the world would Sydney invite her? She knew that they didn't get along and that girl was just so irrelevant that there were no pros to inviting her.
Without realizing it, a frown appeared on Jane's face and she tugged Sienna by the arm off to the side. Sydney and Brody were still talking so she doubted they would notice, and Jane wanted to talk to Sienna before Lyric stole her attention away. If anyone was good with drama, it would be Sienna.
"Why did he just say that Daphne Peterson is invited tonight? Didn't you see the list before she sent out the invitations?" Jane asked, somewhat frantically. Had she slowed down a bit, she would have realized that Sienna and Sydney probably rarely hang out alone during the school year, and there was probably even a smaller chance of them doing so in the summer when it wasn't expected of them to be the close friends that they acted like in public. "Why would she invite that... that... freak?" While she was annoyed with Sydney for inviting Daphne, she was almost relieved to be involved in drama that was involving other people and not just her own personal issues.
Lyric startled upon hearing John's voice. "Hey man!" he said hugging him with a grin. He scanned the room spotting Sienna but waiting a few minutes. His dark blue eyes gazed at his phone. "So uh what did you do this summer?' he asked with an interest. His blonde hair as usual in his face.
He spotted a few familiar faces, Jake Desai being one of them. He couldn't stand the guy, only because he made him feel odd and weird towards him. So he tried to keep distance from him. "Wanna go say hey to Sienna?" he asked with a smile. His trademark smile seemed to be on his face a lot lately.
He felt his stomach rise at the sight of Vincent's name on John's phone. "Please tell me you aren't friends with that ass hole?" he asked with a sigh. He decided to give John a hug and walk towards Sienna. Before he reached her he was stopped by a few random girls asking for pictures. This time he relented into it. "SIENNA!!" he yelled as he was being over swarmed by girls. He snuck under them and walked to his friend.
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As Jake pulls out his phone and checks it, Daphne sincerely doubts very slightly his claim. Based on his expression, it is probably a girl he likes. Having never been much for romance, the girl cannot sympathize with crushes and the like [she has had intellectual attraction before more than anything]. However, she's seen enough to wonder if Jake will now be spirited away by this text, leaving her to stand where she is. If so, she can always go to find the librarian --it would hardly be the worst thing in the world. In fact, she begins to doubt that she wants him to stay, with this train of thought.
Even if he were to leave, however, it appears that Daphne would still have company. Bastion is walking up to them, after all, with a less than pleasant mood apparent on his features. In the time she has known Bastion, Daphne has learned that he is an awful liar, and can be read as easily as a book, even by the standards of those with elementary reading levels. She wonders if it was something to do with his conversation with Jane. A spiteful part of her hopes so, simply because she dislikes Jane and, in an incredibly petty streak, likes the idea of Bastion being irritated with her.
Jake clearly notices as well, asking after Bastion. But Bastion, despite being an infamous ranter, declines to explain his foul expression. He doesn't want to discuss irritation with Jane in front of Daphne, because that might suggest taking sides. He certainly isn't going to mention that he's a bit jealous of Brody at the moment.
So he merely shrugs. "Huh? I'm fine --just a bit tired. I was up really late last night," It isn't a lie, at least. He had stayed up watching movies with Delphine and Willow, because it had been their last non-school night, and he's never been very good at saying no to the twins. One set of puppy dog eyes from them is bad enough, but they double the power, forces to be reckoned with.
He looks over at Daphne, who in fact has just been looking at Sephy as the girl bounces over to John. Daphne has sometimes felt she and Persephone are similar in many ways, but she is reminded that their differences are perhaps just as numerous. The girl bounces cheerfully from friend to friend, impressive in her apparent energy. Daphne finds it interesting to watch, though she can hardly relate to it. "Surprised you haven't already made a beeline to the library, princess," Bastion comments, before looking back at Jake.
"Forgot to ask, how was your summer?"
Daphne considers Bastion's comment. Maybe she could just slip away now; the hallways are probably empty.
Sydney smiled victoriously when Persephone finally retreated. Although she had ran over to another friend, Sydney was sure that it was but a reason for her to get away from the position she had just been put in. Of course Brody had mentioned her before. In fact, he had mentioned her enough that it started to bother her a few times when they were hanging out. The girl was completely irrelevant to everyone besides her little band of misfit friends, so why in the world would Brody expect her to want to hear about some article she wrote, or that she ran a fashion blog. It was just an annoyance and Sydney hoped that by shutting it down at the source, she would be able to keep his mind of off Sephy.
As Sydney looked back at Brody, who was now attempting to express his distaste for her actions, she did feel bad about it, even if it was just a hint of guilt. She had a tendency to get territorial over people, which probably stemmed from her desire to be in control of everyone and everything. Her and Brody had no real future, but she didn't want him to move on from her. She would probably never amount to anything with Carter, but she didn't want Sienna to end up living happily ever after with him either, so she flirted with him. It even troubled her when Vincent, who was the cause of pretty much all of the secret tension between her and Sienna, gave serious attention to other girls around her. She liked knowing that she was everyone's top choice, even if she didn't see them as hers.
Brody was apparently feeling guilty about leaving Sephy hanging, so he then asked if she minded if he invited her to the party tonight. She wanted to say no and to tell him that her party was exclusive for a reason but she that would be too easy. No, she would let Persephone come to show her that she didn't see her as a threat at all, and then if she even tried to make a move again, Sydney would finish what she had started so she didn't have to deal with it for the rest of the school year.
"Of course you can invite her," she said sweetly, running her hand through his brown hair. "The girls are coming over later so we'll pick you up on our way to the club," she said, sliding her hand down his chest before pulling away. As she turned back to where Sienna and Jane had been, she found that they had stepped a few feet away. Jane had a panicked expression on her face, something that didn't seem out of character from her earlier behavior. She could see Lyric Overland approaching and after he yelled out to Sienna, she turned to Jane who wanted just as little to do with Lyric as she did. "Jane, come talk to Mrs. Fallon with me," she suggested, although it came out as more of a demand, as she motioned towards their new science teacher.
John was glad to see Lyric and returned his hug. There were a few girls that seemed to want to talk to Lyric too, but he brushed them off enough that they would hopefully get the message. His friend wasn't a huge music star yet but he was a great musician and it was obvious that John wasn't the only one who saw that. Well, judging by the fact that most of these groupies were girls, he guessed that it probably wasn't just his musical talent that attracted them. However, most of these girls had known Lyric since freshman year so John knew that after a few minutes, their excitement would die down and Lyric would be able to be just another student.
"I sent the past for weeks was visiting family in Spain. My dad's parents and siblings live over there, so summer is usually the only time I see them," John said, answering Lyric's inquiry about what he had done over the summer. "Besides that, uh, not much. My dad spoke at some conference in Toronto so we spent some up there, and then I really just hung out with my sister until she left for Northwestern," he said with a shrug. He had enjoyed his time in Spain but it was something he did every summer so it wasn't too exciting. "What about you? Working on a new a album or something?" he then asked.
As Lyric replied, John heard his cellphone go off. He pulled it out of his pocket, only to find a message from Vincent Mast, asking if they could come to his place before Sydney's party, and if he would provide the pregame alcohol. While Lyric wasn't Vincent's biggest fan, as expressed by his comment about the text message, John didn't mind him that much. He frequently hung out with him and Colin and enjoyed their company most of the time. That wasn't to say that he didn't sense that they sometimes used him for his money, since both of them weren't very wealthy, but he didn't care. At least not enough to do something about it.
To: Vincent Mast
Yea sounds good
Yea sounds good
After replying to Vincent, he turned to Lyric. "Uh, yeah. He and Colin are coming over tonight before we go to Sydney's party. You wanna come?" There wasn't much time for John to hear Lyric's response because as they approached the group centered around Brody Wade, Sephy came darting towards him. She pulled him into a tight hug, something that would have made his face turn tomato red had he not gotten a decent tan this summer.
Her excitement died down when she glanced back in the direction she came from and claimed that the situation was "intense". "Why, what happened?" he asked with concern as he slipped his phone back into his pocket to focus on Sephy. Although no one knew it, Vincent had had a crush on Sephy for probably as long as he knew her. However, she never hesitated to tell him about her own crush on Brody, so John knew it was useless to try to develop anything more with Sephy. The awkward rejection would end up ruining their friendship and John didn't want to lose her altogether, so he kept his feelings hidden and hoped that maybe one day, she would get over Brody and take interest in him.
It was surprising when Sydney agreed to allowing Persephone to come to the party tonight but Brody didn't want to question it. Even though he doubted that she was being sincere in wanting Sephy to be there, he was going to take the invite without going deeper into the subject. He was glad that Sephy would be coming, or at least have the opportunity to come, and as Sydney pressed herself closer to him, he was even happier that he was going to be able to spend the night with her too. It was a win-win situation.
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll see you then," Brody replied after Sydney shared their plans to pick him up on the way to the party. He leaned back against the wall and followed her with his eyes as she walked back over to Jane and Sienna.
The gymnasium was well populated now and Brody felt like it was his duty to mingle, so he made his way throughout the room and had small chats with as many people as possible. He'd ask about their summer or if the knew where they would be applying to college this fall, just small talk to keep the friendly relationships going. Before long, he stumbled upon Kaitlin Kingsley. She was a new student who he had messaged on Facebook a few weeks back when he found out that she would be attending Constance Billard. Although he was only class president at Saint Jude's, he still felt like it would be a polite gesture to reach out to her before she got to the school. She had been friendly online and as he watched her wander around the teacher stalls alone, he thought it would be nice to greet her in person.
Brody waited until she finished speaking to a teacher before stepping towards her. "Hey, you're Kaitlin Kingsley, right? I'm Brody Wade, the guy who messaged you on Facebook a few weeks ago. How's everything going?" He imagined that the first day at a new school had to be intimidating for her, and her new classmates definitely wouldn't make that any easier for her.
Lyric smirked. "No, surprisingly I had time to actually relax this summer. I played at a few clubs, but that's it. I did go to Cali to see my parents....we didn't spend a lot of time but I did see them......once. Either way, I wrote down a few lyr....." he said as he saw him hugs Persephone.
His dark blue eyes darted around the room before looking at Jake Desai....again. What was with Lyric today? He NEVER stared at Desai...that much. He looked at Sienna then back towards John. "Uh, sorry bud. But Vincent, kinda hurt Sienna, so unluckily I would beat his face in with my guitar." he spoke with a serious tone.
He waved to Sienna as he quickly gave her a hug and walked away. He headed towards a corner in the gym and decided to sit down in it just to quietly think to himself.
To: Sia
I'm having a major secret problem, if you know what I mean. As in my secret.
Sienna didn't even blink when Jane pulled her off to the side. She was aware that Jane had some big issue with the very smart girl in their class. Jane's face had her following without question, her phone buzzing at another text from Lyric. When Jane began to express her turmoil at Daphne's invitation, Sienna could only shrug.
"Honey, I wonder why Sydney does half of the crap she does," she griped with arms folded over her chest as she observed the mean girl's interaction with Brody.
Sienna still couldn't grasp the concept of those two together. Like, what attracted Brody to Sydney - of all the girls in the school? Sydney was gorgeous, don't get wrong, Sienna knew that much. However, not every aspect of her was great and Brody was apparently close with two other females at least, so what the hell was going on? On a deeper level, some part of her kept that information to herself; if Sydney ever came for her, she had something for the blonde. But then she blinked back into reality when Jane's face did not calm down. She rubbed Jane's arms comfortingly, putting a big smile.
"Sweetie, it's not like any of us really talk to her, right? So, as far as I'm concerned, she's not important tonight," she told her friend, maintaining eye contact so that, hopefully, Jane wouldn't glare daggers in whatever direction Daphne was in. The last thing she needed was happy-go-lucky Jane ready to destroy someone on the first day back. "Tonight, we're going to have fun, we're going to look hella fine, and Daphne Peterson will be the last thing on your mind." Just as she was about to say more or attempt to get Vivienne to come over and offer some words, she heard a very familiar name shout out her name. She beamed over Jane's shoulder. "LYRIC!!" She squealed, grinning at his fangirls. Back to Jane, she smiled again, "I promise I will get Gus to bring us a bottle of champagne while we're getting ready for the party tonight to get you in the mood, m'kay? Be right back." She hugged Jane tightly and hurried over to Lyric and John.
"Hey, loves!" She exclaimed and would have probably jumped on Lyric had he not given her this very half-hearted hug before jetting off. Sienna's eyes followed her fellow musician in confusion and glanced back at John inquisitively. Her phone buzzed again and she lowered her gaze to read the last text. Frowning slightly, she offered John a small hug and a small smile. "Sorry, love, but...umm...gotta see what this is, apparently." Lips quirked to the left, Sienna made her way over to Lyric, wiggling her fingers sweetly at a few sophomores and juniors. When she got to her friend, she sat beside him and draped her long hair over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at him. "So, who is he?"
Jake grinned wryly at Daphne's response, shoving his phone away. He could talk to Vivienne at some other time, maybe later at the party. He meant it when he said he would not abandon his friend so easily. Sure, he had the tiniest bit of a crush on Vivienne back in the day and yes, they were friends, but her people were not his people. His relationship with Sydney was neutrally gratifying at best, Jane and Sienna probably didn't know he existed, and well, their world was just so different than his. He was comfortable here, in this existence that didn't require him to talk a certain way. Instead, he existed and lived the way he wanted. And yes, some part of him wanted to reach over in their little dimension, but he wasn't at the point where he could dream of abandoning the ones who had been there all along.
"I'd hardly say you were a dull character, Daphne," he told her honestly. "Amidst the very singular-minded rich kids, your complexity is a breath of fresh air." He smiled at her warmly and then cut his eyes at Bastion when he finally made his way back to the others. After inquiring about Sebastian's reasoning behind the very displeased expression, Jake glanced about the room, wondering which of the teachers were new and which weren't. They were offering a new film class and he has been excited about who would be the professor for that.
Thinking so deeply about the matter, Jake almost missed Sebastian's question about his summer. Just as he turned to look his friend in the eyes, his gaze caught the tail end of Lyric Overland's entrance and his eyes probably lingered longer than they needed to. Jake didn't exactly keep it a secret that he was bisexual; he saw no need. If he were to lie about one small factor of his identity, then he might as well lie about everything else. Besides, Lyric was a refreshing sight - all light skin, blonde hair, and eyes deep and blue. For a second, Jake thought their eyes met, but then Lyric went into the opposite direction. Shaking his head subtly, Jake returned his gaze back to his friend and shrugged.
"I didn't do anything exceptionally great," he admitted. "Got a few of the drama kids to help me with a short film I'm working on and started filming a few weeks ago. Visited some art galleries and took a few more film classes." Jake didn't find that an exceptional summer. After all, the highlight was hanging out with a few friends in the mean time. Then again, when had his life ever been even remotely exceptional?
Lyric looked towards his friend. Noticing her worry he laughed. He has appreciated her worry, she was like his own flesh and blood minus his blonde hair and her Hispanic looks. He looked at her, his blue eyes dull and almost grayish. "Jacob....Jacob Desai." he spoke before looking at the girl with a saddened face.
Hi mind then looked back at the memory on how they not exactly, but exactly met his hair in his face he sighed.
He thinks it was freshman, him and Jake had a few classes together. Nothing major, he wasn't going to interact with the boy very much due to his back-then shyness, and fear of Vincent Mast. He remembered the day because it was pretty off. He hadn't really come to terms with who he was back then he was sure it was a possibility but not as in for life.
He and Jake were assigned to work on a project together. That was when Lyric really noticed the boy's appearance. He had dark brown eyes that made the blonde want to melt, he had the most perfect brownish-black hair that Lyric had laid eyes on. So he felt something for him. He was just sure it was a small puppy crush. Nothing to be worried about right?
Well that changed on the final day they worked together. Jake and Lyric were at Lyric's house finishing the project and they had gotten off track and told each other random stories. They had an awkward silence when Lyric mentioned the other had pretty eyes. It got odd but what was really odd for Lyric, he had almost kissed him. Their lips almost touching, Lyric afraid of his feelings kicked Jake out of his house never to talk to him again.
He continually ignored the fact the other tried to repeatedly talk to him, or flirt because he thought they had something. Lyric ignored it but knew it was true......he just wasn't ready.
Lyric shivered at the thought. His diamond blue eyes turning a bit lighter as he thought.
"You're right... you're right," Jane said as Sienna reassured her that Daphne's attendance wouldn't be important. At least she hoped that she was right, and did manage to crack a smile when Sienna mentioned the champagne. "Oh my God, yes. Definitely bring champagne," she said with an eager nod of her head. Luckily, as Sienna excused herself to go talk to John and Lyric, Sydney reappeared and told her to come talk to a teacher with her.
After what she had just overheard, Sydney wasn't at the top of the list of people she wanted to talk to, but it was better than standing alone. As she walked with her, she couldn't help but to continue to think about what Brody had said, and then what Sienna said. It was true that Sydney did a lot of unexpected things but most of them had hidden motives, and Jane worried that there was one here too.
It's not like Sydney would actually want to be friends with her. She's rude and weird and probably shops at like... Walmart, or something random like that. They both do have blonde hair though, and I already know that she doesn't like Sienna for no real reason. Oh my God, she's definitely trying to replace us and form an all-blonde squad. Viv is blonde and Sydney doesn't have a real problem with her, and that's probably why she flirts with Carter all of the time too!
It seemed like a plausible situation to Jane, but as they passed by Daphne, who happened to be standing with Bastion and Jake Desai, a new and even more extreme scenario entered her thoughts.
Oh my God, how am I so stupid? It was obviously Bastion who asked Sydney to invite her. I mean, just look at him! He wasn't that great of friends with her before I left, was he? Not 'walk to school with her' friends. He definitely likes her better than me. Really Bastion? I've known you forever and now you're going to pick that troll over me? So typical.
She was working herself up fairly quickly, even though she knew that Bastion and Daphne had been friends for most of their high school careers too. There was no real reason for her to think that he would want Daphne there when he knew good and well that the girls disliked each other, but it seemed like a more concrete theory than Sydney being anti-brunettes.
Jane wanted to bring it up to Sydney and just see how her friend would respond, but at the same time, she wanted to believe with Sienna had said about Daphne coming not being relevant at all. It really wasn't. While they did have a strong rivalry, it wasn't like Daphne would do anything extreme at a party. She had the upper hand in the classroom and although she was more clever than Jane outside of school too, Jane assured herself that nothing would happen between the two. She was just being paranoid and allowing her anxiety to get her riled up over nothing, so she put on a smile and followed Sydney towards their teacher.