Introduction
Welcome to the Upper East Side...
New York's Upper East Side is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world. Celebrities, heirs, CEO's and the likes call the area home and although the paths that led them to their money may differ, they share the common trait of having a lot of it. The people who reside in the Upper East Side live lives that most people would die to experience and while their social groups tend to include only those of similar statuses, some of the heirs to these fortunes brush shoulders with those of less classes in their schools. Generally, an important family name and a fat wallet can get you a seat in the exclusive schools, but without that, it's possible to be admitted if you're extremely talented in an academic, artistic, or athletic area.
Constance Billard School for Girls and St. Jude's School for Boys are the two most elite private schools in New York, if not the entire country. Although admission to the schools are extremely competitive for scholarship students, or those who cannot afford to attend on their own, it seems like if your parents can afford the nearly the annual sixty-thousand-dollar tuition fee and have a big enough name, it isn't quite as difficult. Money equals power, right? In many respects, yes, but even the largest bank account doesn't exempt these wealthy children from criticism, gossip and drama. The class of 2015 survived three years of drama, but only time will tell if they'll make it through to graduation day.
Constance Billard School for Girls and St. Jude's School for Boys are the two most elite private schools in New York, if not the entire country. Although admission to the schools are extremely competitive for scholarship students, or those who cannot afford to attend on their own, it seems like if your parents can afford the nearly the annual sixty-thousand-dollar tuition fee and have a big enough name, it isn't quite as difficult. Money equals power, right? In many respects, yes, but even the largest bank account doesn't exempt these wealthy children from criticism, gossip and drama. The class of 2015 survived three years of drama, but only time will tell if they'll make it through to graduation day.
OOC Information
Okay, hi! I just want to use this little section to give you a rundown on the idea for this roleplay. Obviously, it's based off of the television series Gossip Girl and is a remake of one that I ran a few months back. I'm sure there have been other fanfics of this show on this website, as I've seen a couple on other rp sites, but I'll do my best to make this one as unique and worthwhile as possible!
To start, this roleplay is going to pretend that Blair and Serena and all of the other original GG characters never existed. *Gasp* I know, how horrible. I love them too but I think that it would get too messy trying to match up every little detail to meet their world. There isn't going to even be a Gossip Girl blog (at least not to start), just because I think we can create enough drama without a blog to spread it.
Below, you may notice the list of available roles. I did make general titles for most of the roles but feel free to interpret them in whatever way you think makes sense. I don't like doing the "face claim" thing where I pick the face claim's for every character in the roleplay because I don't think that's fair to you all, as writers. I want you to love your character and for that to be possible, I think it's helpful for you to pick exactly what they look like. To be honest, I am not picky about "overused" face claims and such because that's such a subjective term. Besides, at least on other websites, most of these roleplays die out within one page of posts so it's not like many of these characters are really used and developed anyway. Touching on that subject, I really do want this roleplay to last. I beg you not to join if you don't want to stay committed. It's your job to fall in love with your character and create relationships that will keep your character involved and relevant, but we all need to try to include/interact with every character. That doesn't (and shouldn't) mean that your character should be best friends with everyone, but it's boring when your character is consistently left out.
I hope that this roleplay will be very interactive and that we can all communicate and make it enjoyable! If you are interested in creating a character and participating, please post in the OOC with which character you are interested in, if you intend on them being a scholarship student or not, and what I should call you out of character if it's something different than your username, and then fill out the character sheet code and submit it! I don't want to exclusively reserve roles for anyone so until a character is officially accepted, you are free to try for the spot. You can personalize your character sheet in any way you please. Just make sure you include all of the listed sections. I would hope this is already known, but if you have any questions for me, please message me or post in our out of character thread.
Okay, hi! I just want to use this little section to give you a rundown on the idea for this roleplay. Obviously, it's based off of the television series Gossip Girl and is a remake of one that I ran a few months back. I'm sure there have been other fanfics of this show on this website, as I've seen a couple on other rp sites, but I'll do my best to make this one as unique and worthwhile as possible!
To start, this roleplay is going to pretend that Blair and Serena and all of the other original GG characters never existed. *Gasp* I know, how horrible. I love them too but I think that it would get too messy trying to match up every little detail to meet their world. There isn't going to even be a Gossip Girl blog (at least not to start), just because I think we can create enough drama without a blog to spread it.
Below, you may notice the list of available roles. I did make general titles for most of the roles but feel free to interpret them in whatever way you think makes sense. I don't like doing the "face claim" thing where I pick the face claim's for every character in the roleplay because I don't think that's fair to you all, as writers. I want you to love your character and for that to be possible, I think it's helpful for you to pick exactly what they look like. To be honest, I am not picky about "overused" face claims and such because that's such a subjective term. Besides, at least on other websites, most of these roleplays die out within one page of posts so it's not like many of these characters are really used and developed anyway. Touching on that subject, I really do want this roleplay to last. I beg you not to join if you don't want to stay committed. It's your job to fall in love with your character and create relationships that will keep your character involved and relevant, but we all need to try to include/interact with every character. That doesn't (and shouldn't) mean that your character should be best friends with everyone, but it's boring when your character is consistently left out.
I hope that this roleplay will be very interactive and that we can all communicate and make it enjoyable! If you are interested in creating a character and participating, please post in the OOC with which character you are interested in, if you intend on them being a scholarship student or not, and what I should call you out of character if it's something different than your username, and then fill out the character sheet code and submit it! I don't want to exclusively reserve roles for anyone so until a character is officially accepted, you are free to try for the spot. You can personalize your character sheet in any way you please. Just make sure you include all of the listed sections. I would hope this is already known, but if you have any questions for me, please message me or post in our out of character thread.
Constance Billard School for Girls Students
The Queen Bee | Sydney Vale | Played by StarStruck
The Pretty Face | Piper Vine | Played by Secute
The Voice | Sienna Alvarez | Played by Girl2Fine2
The Heiress | Jane Lynch | Played by BurningBridges
The Bookworm | Carolina DailyPlayed by Bandit
The Class President | Charlotte Buchanan | Played by BleedingLover
The Free Spirit | Kelley Hadley | Played by Writer
St. Jude's School for Boys Students
Prince Charming | Vincent Mast | Played by StarStruck
The Athlete | Ricardo Slim-Helú | Played by Girl2Fine2
The Bad Boy | Brent Barclay | Taken by Thunder
The Good Guy | Connor Harkins | Played by royals
The Queen Bee | Sydney Vale | Played by StarStruck
The Pretty Face | Piper Vine | Played by Secute
The Voice | Sienna Alvarez | Played by Girl2Fine2
The Heiress | Jane Lynch | Played by BurningBridges
The Bookworm | Carolina DailyPlayed by Bandit
The Class President | Charlotte Buchanan | Played by BleedingLover
The Free Spirit | Kelley Hadley | Played by Writer
St. Jude's School for Boys Students
Prince Charming | Vincent Mast | Played by StarStruck
The Athlete | Ricardo Slim-Helú | Played by Girl2Fine2
The Bad Boy | Brent Barclay | Taken by Thunder
The Good Guy | Connor Harkins | Played by royals
Character Sheet
- Code: Select all
[font=timesnewroman][center][size=300]Name[/size]
[img]gif[/img][/center][hr][/hr][right][img]gif[/img]
[img]gif[/img][/right]
[size=110][b]Full Name:[/b]
First, middle (if applicable) and last
[b]Nickname:[/b]
[b]Birthday:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
The roleplay will begin on September 5th, 2014 so you can use that to match their birthday up with their current age.
[b]Sexual Orientation:[/b]
[b]Grade Level:[/b]
Most will be 12th grade students but if you would like to make an 11th grade student, that is fine.
[b]Hometown:[/b]
[b]Character Role:[/b]
Whatever role you chose from the list[/size]
[hr][/hr][center][size=300]Personal Life[/size][/center][hr][/hr][right][img]gif[/img]
[img]gif[/img][/right]
[size=110][b]Family:[/b]
Describe their family members and relationships with them.
[b]Home Life:[/b]
Describe their upbringing and history in general.
[b]Academic Career:[/b]
What got them into the school - Academics? Money? Sports? How well do they do academically? What clubs/sports do they belong to?
[b]Future Plans:[/b]
Do they plan on going to college? If so, which one? Career aspirations?
[/size][hr][/hr][center][size=300]Disposition[/size][/center][hr][/hr][right][img]gif[/img]
[img]gif[/img][/right][size=110][b]Personality:[/b]
Include good and bad traits. No one is perfect and no one is totally flawed.
[b]Hobbies:[/b]
[b]Bad Habits:[/b]
[b]Likes:[/b]
[b]Dislikes:[/b]
[/size][hr][/hr][center][size=300]Physical Description[/size][/center][hr][/hr][right][img]gif[/img]
[img]gif[/img][/right] [size=110][b]Face Claim:[/b]
[b]Height:[/b]
[b]Weight/Build:[/b]
[b]Hair Color:[/b]
[b]Eye Color:[/b]
[b]Other:[/b]
Anything else you think is important[/size][/font]
The Story So Far... Write a Post » as written by 18 authors
Throughout the entire afternoon, Victoria found herself telling mentally reiterating that this was going to be a painful, but necessary step in her quest to be happy. It would definitely be uncomfortable to spend an entire afternoon with Sienna, Charlotte, Jane and Piper, people she despised, but Sydney would be there. That was exciting enough, and a huge motivator as Tori nearly choked on her anxiety on her way to Sienna's penthouse. To her surprise and delight, the hostess wasn't even there when she got there, but neither was Sydney. The dislike she had for Sienna was recent but strong, because Sienna had tried control of her blog, the one thing that she had in her life, that made her powerful. At home, Victoria was stuck in the shadow of her sister, and essentially ignored by her father. At school, she blended in and had been rejected for so many years, that it was strange that she still had any hope for a social advance. Behind her computer screen, though, she could inflict pain in anyone that she wanted. For example, people didn't like her enough to vote her class president, but she could take that frustration out by tarnishing perfect little Charlotte Buchanan's reputation. It was a way for Tori to translate her anger in a form that she received virtually no backlash in, because no one knew it was her. Well, that was true until recently. Now Sienna not only knew, but was testing that power, and while Tori was unaware that Piper also knew, she knew that it was bound to come out sooner than later. She only hoped that by the time it got to Sydney, she and Sienna would be at such odds that Sydney wouldn't believe it to be true.
The time that she had before Sydney and Sienna arrived at Sienna's wasn't as painful as she imagined it would be. She wasn't big on drinking alcohol, so she kept away from the beverages being served, but indulged in some of the pastries and appetizers. Her got her nails, hair and makeup done, and was still busy with that when the hostess and Sydney came in. Suddenly, her nerves were back, especially because the two of them didn't seem to hate each other. Victoria had been certain that Sydney would show up with Jane, who had also been missing for the beginning of the pre-party, but she didn't. That should've been exciting to Tori, who could have used it as her opportunity to hang out with Sydney alone, but the queen bee didn't seem interested in her. If she didn't cherish her so much, Tori would have criticized her for having such mood changes. One day, she was inviting her to go shopping at Tiffany's and setting her up with one of her closest guy friends, and the next, she wouldn't even lift her eyes from her phone screen to acknowledge the "hey!" that Victoria offered. It was frustrating, but Tori had to remember that she didn't need to be clingy and annoying. She was here, at the "cool kids'" pre-party, and that was what mattered.
After another hour or so, Tori was ready, aside from putting on her dress and shoes, so she decided to try to make conversation with Sydney again. At the very least, she could thank her again for setting her up with Connor... which reminded her that she should probably try to text him, so that it wasn't completely awkward when he came.
To: Connor
Excited for tn :)!
When she grabbed her phone to text him, she saw a text from Sienna as well, which had her neutral expression quickly turning into a scowl. She now definitely couldn't stand Sienna. The text was taunting, maintaining a tone that the two had went back and forth with in their previous exchanges, but Tori didn't like her using that when she couldn't do anything. This was Sienna's turf, and Tori didn't doubt that she would be publicly blasted if she responded to it with something similar. So, she didn't. She only glanced in Sienna's direction, but found the blonde preoccupied with other people, and by the time she texted Connor, Sienna was speaking to the group and then she and Sydney were heading upstairs. NOOOOOO! They weren't supposed to be friends! She didn't need Sienna alone with Sydney, especially with the point she and Sienna were at. All it took was for Sienna to open her mouth, and Tori's chance at becoming Sydney's best friend was gone. All of this work... gone. Tori considered just leaving. Leaving this house. Not going to the party. Transferring schools. Yeah, that sounded good. Better than facing the fate of the worst possible situation her mind could conjure.
She didn't know if she was actually going to leave or not, but almost automatically, Tori found herself walking towards the exit of the room. Before she got more than a few feet, Jane appeared out of nowhere, fully dressed, and while she was quite possibly her least favorite of the four, Tori was relieved at the sight of her. She could be the scapegoat here. Victoria could use her to her advantage... somehow. As she hurried towards the girl, she didn't have a plan, but with Jane's thoughts being as pliable as Tori assumed them to be, she hoped that she could figure something out. "Jane!" Tori chirped, placing a hand on the girl's arm as if they were actually friends. "There's something important that I need to talk to you about. Will you come in the hall with me for a second?"
Nervous didn't even describe how Jane felt, walking into Sienna's house. She refused to check her phone the entire way there, but after being greeted by Katherine, the Alvarez housekeeper that she was most familiar with, Jane felt a little bit better. She didn't receive any warning that she should run back home, which she didn't necessarily expect from the employee anyway, but it was still a good sign. When she was led into the most occupied room, she found a group of familiar faces, with some being more familiar than others. There were some people she knew only through Sienna, who she wasn't very close with, but there was Piper, and Charlotte and Rosie... yet no Sienna or Sydney. She was only a foot into the room when she could no longer resist temptation, and pulled out her phone. Her first thought was to text either of her best friends and make sure that they weren't off ripping out each other's hair in another room, and though Sienna's text about the two "talking" worried her, it didn't seem as bad as it could be. Jane had too much to worry about right now, especially with the smell of something delicious taunting her from one of the tables across the room, to get involved anymore than to request that Sienna vouch for her during whatever their conversation.
To: Sienna
ilysm!!! don't let her kill me, i was literally asleep. let's all be friends ily
To: Sydney
i'm so so so so so so so sorry i fell asleep but i'm here now <3
It was true that Jane did have every intention of bailing on tonight's festivities, but her excuse of being asleep all afternoon wasn't a lie either. Just from the number of missed calls and the texts Sydney had sent her, compared to just the one from Sienna before this one, made it clear that Sydney was more angry at her than Sia. Which wasn't surprising. Sydney took everything so personally, and Jane was sensitive too, so she couldn't really criticize, but it was like, if she didn't follow Sydney's agenda to a T, she was going to hear about it. Or not hear about it, and be on the receiving end of the cold shoulder for the rest of the night.
As she headed into the room, she took a martini from a tray, but only a sip in, and she knew she was going to be needing more gin than that. That was especially true, when she spotted Victoria across the room. Who invited her?! Jane didn't want to be so negative, and decided it'd be easier to just ignore the people she didn't like tonight. In a quick decision, she decided that that included Piper. The redhead hadn't pulled through with her pills yesterday, and until she gave them to her, she was going to be ignored, even if she was the party hostess tonight. Jane didn't care, and she wouldn't acknowledge the idea that therapists had suggested to her during treatment, that her illness made her selfish. It was hard to think about anyone else when she was so caught up on her own problems, and in the mindset that everyone was out to get her. Piper had no real obligation to get her the pills, but Jane felt like she was being an incredibly bad friend by not getting them for her the minute she asked for them. She wasn't used to not being able to go to the store or ordering some housekeeper to go, and get whatever it was that she wanted. Piper was her only connection to Brent, but at this point, Jane was considering reaching out to him herself. She needed those pills badly, and the way her appetite was creeping up on her tonight, and how gross she felt in her dress, only reminded her of that.
"Hey girlie!" Jane smiled as she approached Lottie, the girl that she decided was her favorite out of the current choices in the room. "You look sooooo-" Jane literally stopped mid-sentence as she felt someone touch her, and the disgust couldn't have translated any clearer onto her face when she saw that it was Victoria, asking her to come into the hall to talk in private. Um, not a chance, was what she wanted to say, and she hesitated for a moment, but then pulled away from Victoria and wrapped one of her arms around Charlotte's arm, forcing the blonde closer to her. "Uh, okay I guess... but Charlotte's my date tonight, so she has to come with me," Jane decided, being playful, but only towards Charlotte as she pulled her out of the room behind Tori.
Sienna expected the explosion, she really did. It still didn't stop her from flinching. Why would it? Because she wasn't explaining anything and she knew it would've helped to at least tell Sydney beforehand. At least Sydney. Maybe not Jane because the girl would have cried over two bottles of Chardonnay and a shit storm of shopping bags filled with clothes she was actually never going to wear. But still, she couldn't have back then. In her head, she had promised not to say anything and she had been very good in that pursuit. She didn't owe Tori anything, but she understood. At least, in some small way, she did.
"Don't be fucking naive, Syd," Sienna hissed without meaning to, hands rising to tame the tousled strands despite knowing that nothing she did with just her fingers was going to put them back in place. And maybe nothing she did in the future was going to put Tori - everything - back in place either, but she had to try. She wouldn't be herself without at least trying. And failing, her mind taunted and Sienna told it to go fuck itself. She didn't need a Sydney in her head, not when the girl was standing so close. "She'll give you those doe eyes and apologize that I'm unable to take responsibility for a blog I wouldn't have the time to run even if I wanted to. She'll deny it and since she's rigged it so that no one but an actual hacker can bypass her wall to figure out that she's the blogger, you'd be able to do nothing but believe every word she said. I'd have no proof other than what I saw when she tried to post about Charlotte being the biggest McSlut Slut that ever slutted her way to presidency when they were both running."
At that point, there was no filtering anything and no way to keep the words from being blurted out. Sienna had confided in Piper at the time because Piper had been someone she considered trust-worthy. But whether or not she chose to acknowledge her subconscious was another story because when it came down to it, Sienna would have - no matter what - trusted Sydney more. The realization had tears stinging the backs of her eyes - and fuck her brain for being so damn emotional! - but she shoved them back. She took a shaky breath, willing herself to be a bit more composed. She had to be. She had already been the one closer to full-out sobbing the last time she and Sydney talked alone. This time around, she had guests. She didn't need to go downstairs with red eyes and over what? Bitch-Toria? Hell no!
"Which was why I wasn't in school yesterday," Sienna admitted, a resigned tone to her voice as she leaned back so that her head thumped against the double doors. "I wanted to screw her over double-time, one for the post about Charlotte but also trying to come for Jane. She couldn't get away with that. And I've got someone trying to break down her wall...I just..." Composed, Sienna willed before meeting Sydney's gaze again squarely. "I just wanted to make sure that I had all my ducks in a row. And no, I didn't intend on telling you, but only because I wanted to kick that bitch where it counted. She won't ever tell you the truth, so I plan to expose it for her."
A beat later, Sienna decidedly glanced down at her phone, having felt it buzz some time before to see the message from Jane. It brought a small smile to her face. "I don't know what you're gonna do with what I've told you, but we should probably start getting dressed. And Jane's asking me not to let you kill her, so..."
"Okay, I believe you." The declaration came after a long pause. Sydney had a couple of options. She could have snapped at Sienna not to tell her what to do, and that she had no reason to trust her any more than Tori. She didn't really feel that way, though. Obviously, Sienna hadn't been a good friend by posting - or getting Victoria to post - the thing about her and Vincent, but that was provoked. Sydney knew where Sienna was coming from with that post, because it fit right in with the emotional and vindictive side of Sienna that Sydney knew, and was possibly mirroring at the moment. Where she and Sienna had been since school started was probably the worst place that their relationship had ever been in, and she tried to see that. She tried to remind herself that Sienna and Victoria were not equals, and the level of trust she had for Sienna would always exist, even if they were at odds. The fact that deep down, she still felt like Sienna was her friend, even in their worst hour, proved that, while Victoria had yet to become anything to Sydney. Right now, the usefulness of Tori was clouded by the shock at her nerve to try to hurt Jane, but until and if that ever cleared away, she was just going to be disposable when compared to her real friends.
Sydney hated this feeing, where she didn't know what to think and who to trust. She was always so in control! Even if she couldn't control all of the craziness of the upper east side, she could control herself. She could make herself as hard as stone, and refuse to let anyone see her unsure or vulnerable. She hated being at the hands of anyone else, and that was just where she was now. If Sienna was lying and she really was behind the blog, Sydney would look like the fool for believing her. Maybe she would look like even more than a fool. She would look like she was so desperate for Sienna's friendship, that she forgot all of her wrongdoings and fell for a lie. If that happened, Sydney supposed that she could just use it as a chance to make Sienna into the heartless villain who was crazy and power hungry. Surprisingly, Sydney hoped that it wouldn't come to that. She wanted this to be genuine, because deep down, she did miss her real friendship with Sienna. She rarely showed it to anyone, but Jane wasn't lying the day before when she told Sienna that Sydney missed her.
"And I don't know what I'm going to do with that information," Sydney admitted, and God, was it weird to say that. She could probably count the number of times that she had admitted she didn't know what to do on one hand. But here, she didn't. Sydney wasn't scared to confront Victoria at all, and if this had been over anything other than Jane, she would have. She would have had Tori Walsh transferring to a different school before he hour's end, but this was so different. Victoria, basically a stranger, knew about something that Jane had tried so hard to hide from even her closest friends. "I'm not going to kill her," Sydney followed Sienna's message from Jane and suggestion that they get dressed. "But she's going to kill herself if she keeps up with this... Or if she finds out that Victoria knows. I don't know what to do with this, but we have to figure it out." Sydney had went from being bored, disconnected and annoyed, to being completely stressed out in a matter of ten minutes. "You're right, though. Let's get dressed, I don't want Jane being down there with that... with her, and if you decide to do something before I do, you need to text me."
Sydney hated this feeing, where she didn't know what to think and who to trust. She was always so in control! Even if she couldn't control all of the craziness of the upper east side, she could control herself. She could make herself as hard as stone, and refuse to let anyone see her unsure or vulnerable. She hated being at the hands of anyone else, and that was just where she was now. If Sienna was lying and she really was behind the blog, Sydney would look like the fool for believing her. Maybe she would look like even more than a fool. She would look like she was so desperate for Sienna's friendship, that she forgot all of her wrongdoings and fell for a lie. If that happened, Sydney supposed that she could just use it as a chance to make Sienna into the heartless villain who was crazy and power hungry. Surprisingly, Sydney hoped that it wouldn't come to that. She wanted this to be genuine, because deep down, she did miss her real friendship with Sienna. She rarely showed it to anyone, but Jane wasn't lying the day before when she told Sienna that Sydney missed her.
"And I don't know what I'm going to do with that information," Sydney admitted, and God, was it weird to say that. She could probably count the number of times that she had admitted she didn't know what to do on one hand. But here, she didn't. Sydney wasn't scared to confront Victoria at all, and if this had been over anything other than Jane, she would have. She would have had Tori Walsh transferring to a different school before he hour's end, but this was so different. Victoria, basically a stranger, knew about something that Jane had tried so hard to hide from even her closest friends. "I'm not going to kill her," Sydney followed Sienna's message from Jane and suggestion that they get dressed. "But she's going to kill herself if she keeps up with this... Or if she finds out that Victoria knows. I don't know what to do with this, but we have to figure it out." Sydney had went from being bored, disconnected and annoyed, to being completely stressed out in a matter of ten minutes. "You're right, though. Let's get dressed, I don't want Jane being down there with that... with her, and if you decide to do something before I do, you need to text me."
What did Sydney see in Jane to make her a part of their group? Even Sienna too! What could any smart, respected person in this community see in this girl, who was so rude and dumb! Victoria's thoughts were rampant with curses as she watched Jane's expression change from cheerful to bothered as she went from interacting with Charlotte to her. You stupid little bitch... If it wasn't for Jane's money, her connections, and her looks, no one would ever like her, but that wasn't something that was exclusive to Jane. Being gorgeous and rich did mean a lot, and while Victoria's intelligence would get her far in life, so would Jane's money and looks. It felt unfair, but it was the bitter reality and it only made Tori want to take her down more now. It would be the only dose of reality that a girl like Jane would ever face in her life, she imagined. So, Victoria didn't even hesitate to speak up when Jane attempted to foil her plan by bringing Lottie along. Aside from Sienna, right now, Lottie was the last person that Tori wanted to be hanging around. It had nothing to do with feeling like she couldn't say things in front of Charlotte or being intimidated, she just didn't like her. The connection that the blonde had with Sienna was a deterrent too, but not as much as Tori just disliking her. She would be able to flaunt Connor around Lottie later, and until then, she wanted the blonde out of her face.
"Oh, okay. I mean, I wanted to talk to you about what I've heard you've been begging Brent for, but if you want Charlotte to come along, that's cool too!" Victoria kept her tone light and perky, even. She could play the innocent card very well, and she didn't want it to look like she was threatening or blackmailing Jane in front of Charlotte. As far as she portrayed it, she thought that Jane and Brent's interactions were public knowledge, or at least knowledge to her "date" Charlotte, and that she was just trying to be helpful.
Earlier that week, she had picked out a couple of dresses with Nicole, and after school today, she decided on the royal blue gown. Her sister agreed that it was her best pick, with it being classy and simple, but also fitted enough to touch upon her curves, so after finishing all of the assignments she had due on Monday, she finally started to get ready. Sienna had extended the invitation to her pre-party to her a few days before, and Carolina had planned on going originally. However, she always put her school work over socializing, and she knew that if she didn't do her work before Piper's party, she wouldn't be able to relax and actually enjoy herself. Plus, she assumed that Jane was going to be at Sienna's all afternoon, and Carrie didn't feel like spending any unnecessary time with that nuisance. She really just planned on going to Piper's on her own and meeting up with the girls there, but she finished her work and getting ready earlier than expected. Of course, once her sister heard that, she was basically forced out the door to go to Sienna's.
Nicole spent the elevator ride to the lobby pleading with her to reach out to Jane again. She tried to convince Carolina that Jane was just naturally bratty, and that it wasn't something that she should take personally. "She wasn't lucky enough to grow up with any siblings, Carrie! She doesn't know how to share attention or be challenged and not get things to go her way, but she's not a bad kid. She's going through a lot, why don't you just try to be a friend to her once more?" Carolina told her that she was trying to convince the wrong person to be nice, but nothing she said would get through to Nicole. It made Carolina wonder if Jane had went crying to her dad about it, because Nicole was usually on her side about this, or at least before Carolina had moved in, all she could talk about was how outrageous she acted. Luckily, when she stepped out of the elevator and got into the car alone, Sienna texted her, which reassured her that her invitation was still valid.
To: Sienna
Lol I'm omw rn. Had soo much school stuff to do. U wouldn't know since u skipped again lol. Hope my invite is still good, be there in a few
To: Leon
Hope I c u tn!
A few minutes later, the Lynch's driver left her in front of Sienna's building, and Carolina made her way inside. She was quickly buzzed in by one of the Alvarez's staff members, and before long, found herself in the elegant apartment with a group of girls. Nearly every face was familiar to her, and she offered a friendly smile to most of them, but without Sienna in sight, the only two people she really would have interacted with were Piper and Charlotte. Charlotte was standing beside Jane and Tori Walsh, so Carolina quickly made the choice to head over to Piper. "Damn, I'm surprised you're here and not freaking out over your rich bitch party," she smirked as she sat down beside the girl. "You look pretty though, so I guess that's all that matters," she added, on an equally playful note.
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S I E N N A ~ A L VA R E Z
"If you asked me a week ago, I wouldn't be able to say it but...I missed you."
Outfit|| Matthew Williamson Halter gown w/
Giuseppe Zanotti stilettos & embroidered Marchesa clutch
Location || Her Bedroom
IPod || Control by Halsey
Mood|| Sentimental
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S I E N N A ~ A L VA R E Z
"If you asked me a week ago, I wouldn't be able to say it but...I missed you."
Outfit|| Matthew Williamson Halter gown w/
Giuseppe Zanotti stilettos & embroidered Marchesa clutch
Location || Her Bedroom
IPod || Control by Halsey
Mood|| Sentimental
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Even if she wanted to, Sienna couldn't fight the warmth that spread in her chest nor the smile that played on the corners of her mouth. She shouldn't have been as happy as she did that Sydney even remotely believed her or that they were possibly in this together, but here she was. A bit overwhelmed by that little fact and nodded carefully, trying her hardest not to let that smile be as big as it wanted to be.
"Y-yeah, ok. Sure. I will. And...thanks," she said, playing with the handles of the doors before opening them again, glancing over her shoulder at Sydney. "For believing me, thanks. And, you don't have to say anything back, but...I...kinda have missed you, Syd." Sienna didn't allow herself to push for more, remembering that it was Piper's night to throw a bomb ass party and that she didn't need any tears. She wanted to have fun and yeah, she was probably going to be side-eyeing Tori for the rest of the night but she wanted to at least go back to enjoying herself. So, she turned away and headed back into the bedroom while still talking to Sydney. "I forgot where you put your stuff, but I'm changing up here. You can use the closet. I'm gonna text J to come up here...just because."
To: J
She won't kill u, promise. Come upstairs. Need 2 put on my gown b4 hair & makeup gets done ;p
To: Piper, Lottie
No WWIII yet :D Putting on my dress & I'll be back down
To: Piper
Are u leaving b4 us 2 b there 1rst?
To: Carrie
Girlie, ur always welcome here ;D Ftr I always get my assignments. Wouldn't b honor roll w/out it. Cant wait 2 c ur dress. B down soon
Once those texts were sent, she also sent a few to the other girls whom she knew were leaving before them to go with dates and such. There were always those large number of students who went ahead of everyone else and honestly, Sienna loved those people. The vain girl in her liked being able to make an entrance and she very well couldn't make a proper entrance if there was no one already waiting for her. Back in the comfort of her room, Sienna kicked the Louboutins off her feet and under her bed, plugged up her phone and then proceeded to stand behind the privacy screen she had gotten installed in her room some time ago. Katherine had already set up her mannequin with the dress for the evening and her jewelry was already laid out on her vanity.
After getting the clothing she had barely had time to really rest in off, Sienna went without wearing a bra and found the nipple coverings Katherine had left behind. The bodice of the Matthew Williamson halter gown from his summer 2015 collection was very fitted since the model originally used was definitely skinnier than Sienna, resulting in a nice push-up effect for her boobs. Not that she complained. She had hated the thought of having to wear a bra with it and was definitely not against it. She also went for the lace thong Cynthia would probably slap her for owning, and then slid the masterpiece over her body. She loved the cut-outs along the sides, revealing just only a tease of her trim sides and flat tummy, and also the reveal of her back. Plus, the center front split was a sexy surprise when she walked. It was a nice fit but also required zipping at the back. However, after careful maneuvering (especially considering her nails) and stretching, she was donning the relaxed yet sensuously glamorous gown. Once that was done, Sienna emerged from behind the screen to slip into her heels before going to the vanity to put on her jewelry, noting the mask that awaited her as well.
It didn't take particularly long for Rick to get to Connor's place. Traffic flow was still considerably heavy since it was a Friday night and he knew that a good number of students, even a few not from either St. Jude's or Constance, would be attending Piper Vine's masquerade ball. It was an event hosted by one of the most popular girls on the Upper East Side. Whether or not you were a student at the two respectable schools was irrelevant. You were going, one way or another. Or your life was simply boring. Still, luckily for him, his driver knew the back-ways and hidden corners to cut that enabled him to reach his friend's home in fifteen minutes.
It didn't take him long to gain access inside and before long, the king of St. Jude's was walking into the room his two friends were occupying with the typical swagger in his walk and a smirk on his lips. "I see you two have started the party without me," he exclaimed with amusement, recalling the text he had received from Vincent. Rick could only guess, with the glasses on the table, that the two guys had definitely started enjoying themselves. He also could only guess how much trouble Vincent planned to get himself into and the thought alone caused his eyebrow to twitch with interest. Of course, Rick himself planned to enjoy the night, but there was something about one of his friends being drunk and reckless that entertained him. After all, it was the simple things in life that made him happy. Good sex. Great food. Drunk people. Yep, the simple things.
"But, first thing's first, Harkins," he exclaimed decidedly, plopping down on one of the chairs and pointing a finger directly at Connor. "I was expecting you to ask Sydney. Hell, maybe even our own Madam President, but Victoria Walsh? Now, that's just not like you. You usually bounce between two blondes...like your friend over here." Rick gave a pointed nod to Vincent's direction before returning his imploring yet playful gaze back to Connor. "Don't tell you're trying for an easier conquest, my friend. I thought you liked the chase?"
Sydney had to admit that this was night. Like Sienna, there was a feeling of relief and warmth that filled Sydney when she realized that her interactions with Sienna right now were genuine. It was so much easier this way, when they were on the same page. Sydney didn't always act like it, but Sienna was an equal to her, or at least as close as anyone could come to being her equal, and she didn't want to fight with someone that she would struggle to win with. With Piper, Charlotte, even Jane... Sydney didn't have to question that she could crush them if she needed to. With Sienna, that would always be more difficult and less certain. Looking beyond Sydney's constantly defensive front, she was glad to be on a good level with Sydney for more authentic reasons, because she just enjoyed their friendship. It had been a while since they were on a real level of being okay, and Sydney probably had to take a few more steps by actually apologizing for sleeping with Vincent, but for now, this was enough. She returned Sienna's smile, but took advantage of her insistence that she didn't have to say anything, by remaining silent as Sienna headed out of the closet to go get dressed.
Coincidentally, Sydney had requested that her dress be hung in Sienna's room when she arrived, and it was hanging only a few feet away. She was more comfortable with remaining up here than going downstairs. Not only was she still unsure on how she wanted to respond to Jane, especially since she left Jane's apologetic text unanswered, but she didn't know what she wanted to do with Victoria either. If what Sienna said was true, then she had every right to kill Victoria... socially, at least. How dare she. Sydney felt like it was one thing for her to be less than sympathetic towards Jane regarding her illness, but Victoria was different. She was a wannabe, who had no right to be threatening Jane, of all people. Sienna or Piper would have been one thing, because the two of them could hold their own, but Sydney didn't feel that way about Jane, and rightfully so, probably. Jane ran away from them when they tried to confront her about it, so she could only imagine how it would be if someone she barely knew, and didn't like, did the same. "When she comes up, I think we should tell her," Sydney said, breaking the silence a few minutes after emerging from the closet. She had changed into the purple gown she had decided on last-minute, and stood in front of one of Sienna's mirrors as she put in her earrings. "I think that we should tell her, or we should find out how Victoria found out. I know that I didn't tell her, but did you tell Charlotte or anyone? Or maybe it really was your friend, Carolina." Sydney's voice was surprisingly not accusatory now, and she only looked at Sienna through the mirror, admiring her friend's appearance silently. "And... I missed you too."
While the two got dressed and waited for Jane to eventually make her way up to Sienna's bedroom, the silence wasn't as suffocating as Sienna had feared it would be. Perhaps the anticipation for something hostile and the knowledge of what they needed to discuss had aided in making it awkward and tense earlier, she didn't know. But...she liked the comfort of being able to do what they normally did during times like these - be together. It was an exhilarating feeling and Sienna felt decidedly giddy as she put on her obsidian drop earrings. Despite her love for accessories, with the way Sienna wanted her hair styled and the dramatics of her mask, she felt like anything more than the earrings would be gaudy and completely unfashionable. Sienna was a lover of fashion, but never to the point of impracticality.
When Sydney re-entered the bedroom and brought up the idea of telling Jane, Sienna sobered up slightly, lips pressed together tightly at the thought and hands frozen mid-air when she was in the process of grabbing her perfume bottle. Sienna hummed thoughtfully at the idea and would have mulled over it longer until Sydney surprised her by the admission. It made her heart swell and when their gazes met through the mirrors they were both staring into, Sienna could not hide the wideness of her smile. She didn't say anything more, however, on that matter. Again, there had been enough of exchanges in affection for the two of them for the day. At least, for now. So, she forced herself to consider what Sydney had brought to her attention.
"You're right. We...we should tell her. She'll hate it, but you're right," she admitted and spritzed herself carefully with the seductive, long-lasting fragrance. She had not been able to use it earlier and had missed the scent for some odd reason. But still, there was one thing that wasn't adding up to her and Sienna turned around in her seat with a pensive expression. "I never told anyone anything. Carrie knew, probably, because her sister told her..." Sienna paused at that, reached over for her phone, and unlocked it to scroll to the past texts between herself and Tori. Finding what she was looking for, she held the device up. "...but Carrie didn't know what Tori knew. She knew J had an eating disorder because Nicole told her but that should have been it. Tori said that J was using drugs for it. I never knew about that, did you?" Not even bothering to force Sydney to move, Sienna crossed the distance between the two of them to show Sydney the text.
It still was a bit puzzling and the peices were trying their damnest to come together, but Sienna couldn't wrap her head around it fully. "And if that's the case, how the hell did Tori figure that out if not even the people that live with J knows?"
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_____ T H EXC L A S SXP R E S I D E N T _____
- Location : Her Apartment
Outfit :Her Gown
Dialogue Color ✦ #007478
Thought Color ✧ #7A7A7A
Rosie did everything in her power to keep her sister from backing out from going to the party just because of Connor and Tori. She wanted Lottie to go. Her dress was gorgeous, she looked amazing in it, and she refused to go without her even if that meant not going herself. Charlotte stayed in bed most of the day not wanting to go anywhere and see anyone. But, finally Rosie got her up and ready for a day of getting ready at Sienna's and getting her hair and makeup professionally done just to make her beauty over the top. Which is what they did most of the day and getting Lottie the perfect 'glass slippers'. Rose for some reason had an idea in her head to make Lottie the 'modern day Cinderella' complete with a curve hugging gown with a flowing white bottom, diamonds all over her body including Connor's bracelet to Charlotte, and her hair flowing out of her face but still framing the sides of her face for the mask to fit perfectly. After a few hours the twins made their way to Sienna's with all of their stuff to get ready with everyone else.
Once there Lottie and Rose split up to get ready. Rosie was ready to get into her dress and was pushing Lottie to do so too seeing that most of the girls already were dressed for the night. So, of course Lottie went with her to get ready. They slipped into a room where they put on their new lingerie from the photo shoot on along with their actual dresses. Rose's was easier to get on seeing that hers just needed to her slipping on from her feet up. While Lottie's was a corset type and took longer to get on. On top of that Rose was not the stronger so it took them much longer and Lottie refused for her to get help from their friends. All of them, even Rosie had these great bodies but at the end of the day they were pretty thin, sure they had curves but they were still small. Lottie wasn't like that. She was bigger all around and had a lot of muscle from years of volleyball and swimming especially around her torso and shoulder. "Lottie, c'mon please don't get upset. Everything's fine." The older twin was sniffling and trying not to get herself worked up but it wasn't working. She was sucking in as much as she could as she stood on her tip toes, towering over her sister. "This is a sign. My implant's shorting out, my dress won't fit, Connor going with Tori. I seriously just need to stay--.." Rose groaned as she walked to face her sister and grabbed her toned arms. "Get it together! When are you ever one to let someone, anyone dictate what and where you're going to go? You're Charlotte fucking Buchanan! One of the sexiest girl in New York, one of the most desired girls by... anyone."
"Rose."
"No Lottie, Listen! You cannot be like this. I hate seeing you like this, everyone does and if you go out there with a frown on your face everyone's going to get upset. I know you hate when I guilt you but, so what? Connor going with Tori because Syd damn near made him. Okay? Talk to him there, alright? 'Til then smile and make every girl out there jealous." Charlotte broke into a small smile before Rose went back to the corset but not before slapping her butt with a small chuckle. Who knows what happened? But, all of a sudden the two could finally get it nice and tight. When she turned around she couldn't help but smile at her reflection as Rose added the diamond necklace to finish the look and handing her her red bottom, clear diamond heels. "See. Connor won't be able to keep his eyes off of you. Now, let's go make that bitch Tori jealous." Lottie rolled her eyes as the two walked out to go into the front room. Rose left Lottie for a second to go get a drink for herself and some water for Charlotte. "Hey girlie!" Lottie turned towards Jane with a smile. "Hey Janie."
"You look sooooo-" Lottie furrowed her brows when Jane cut herself off. But once she was Tori, the blonde understood. "Jane! There's something important that I need to talk to you about. Will you come in the hall with me for a second?" Lottie just sat there and listened to the two just in case she needed to calm the two girls down. "Uh, okay I guess... but Charlotte's my date tonight, so she has to come with me," Now Lottie was caught off guard. Why did she have to be brought into this?! "I--.. Ummm--.."
"Oh, okay. I mean, I wanted to talk to you about what I've heard you've been begging Brent for, but if you want Charlotte to come along, that's cool too!" Lottie turned to Jane with her eyebrows raised with a small frown. "I really don't have to go. You guys can go talk, really. I--I don't want to get in the way or anythang." Before either of them could reply Lottie got a text from Sienna and decided to turn her attention to the text in question.
To : Sienna
Me? WW3? Never, but you might need to watch the others. lol.
Once there Lottie and Rose split up to get ready. Rosie was ready to get into her dress and was pushing Lottie to do so too seeing that most of the girls already were dressed for the night. So, of course Lottie went with her to get ready. They slipped into a room where they put on their new lingerie from the photo shoot on along with their actual dresses. Rose's was easier to get on seeing that hers just needed to her slipping on from her feet up. While Lottie's was a corset type and took longer to get on. On top of that Rose was not the stronger so it took them much longer and Lottie refused for her to get help from their friends. All of them, even Rosie had these great bodies but at the end of the day they were pretty thin, sure they had curves but they were still small. Lottie wasn't like that. She was bigger all around and had a lot of muscle from years of volleyball and swimming especially around her torso and shoulder. "Lottie, c'mon please don't get upset. Everything's fine." The older twin was sniffling and trying not to get herself worked up but it wasn't working. She was sucking in as much as she could as she stood on her tip toes, towering over her sister. "This is a sign. My implant's shorting out, my dress won't fit, Connor going with Tori. I seriously just need to stay--.." Rose groaned as she walked to face her sister and grabbed her toned arms. "Get it together! When are you ever one to let someone, anyone dictate what and where you're going to go? You're Charlotte fucking Buchanan! One of the sexiest girl in New York, one of the most desired girls by... anyone."
"Rose."
"No Lottie, Listen! You cannot be like this. I hate seeing you like this, everyone does and if you go out there with a frown on your face everyone's going to get upset. I know you hate when I guilt you but, so what? Connor going with Tori because Syd damn near made him. Okay? Talk to him there, alright? 'Til then smile and make every girl out there jealous." Charlotte broke into a small smile before Rose went back to the corset but not before slapping her butt with a small chuckle. Who knows what happened? But, all of a sudden the two could finally get it nice and tight. When she turned around she couldn't help but smile at her reflection as Rose added the diamond necklace to finish the look and handing her her red bottom, clear diamond heels. "See. Connor won't be able to keep his eyes off of you. Now, let's go make that bitch Tori jealous." Lottie rolled her eyes as the two walked out to go into the front room. Rose left Lottie for a second to go get a drink for herself and some water for Charlotte. "Hey girlie!" Lottie turned towards Jane with a smile. "Hey Janie."
"You look sooooo-" Lottie furrowed her brows when Jane cut herself off. But once she was Tori, the blonde understood. "Jane! There's something important that I need to talk to you about. Will you come in the hall with me for a second?" Lottie just sat there and listened to the two just in case she needed to calm the two girls down. "Uh, okay I guess... but Charlotte's my date tonight, so she has to come with me," Now Lottie was caught off guard. Why did she have to be brought into this?! "I--.. Ummm--.."
"Oh, okay. I mean, I wanted to talk to you about what I've heard you've been begging Brent for, but if you want Charlotte to come along, that's cool too!" Lottie turned to Jane with her eyebrows raised with a small frown. "I really don't have to go. You guys can go talk, really. I--I don't want to get in the way or anythang." Before either of them could reply Lottie got a text from Sienna and decided to turn her attention to the text in question.
To : Sienna
Me? WW3? Never, but you might need to watch the others. lol.
It was a good thing that Sienna only smiled after Sydney admitted that she had missed her too. It was true, that the two had made enough emotional progress for one day, and Sydney's makeup was already done. She couldn't ruin it with tear-stained cheeks and puffy, red eyes. So, she settled for sending a small smile back, which faded by the time that Sienna replied to her suggestion that they tell Jane. Sydney did believe that they should, but Sienna was right. Jane was going to hate it, and she was probably going to try to leave town faster than Tori would when Sydney figured out how to handle her. Maybe it was insensitive to be thinking of herself when it was really Jane being faced with the dilemma, but Sydney didn't want to deal with that tonight. She didn't want Jane drinking herself into a drunken stupor, or Jane sobbing all night or trying to run. Sydney already doubted that she could have fun tonight, because of the stress she felt from finding out that Tori was trying to sabotage them, but that wasn't something she had to deal with immediately. If they told Jane, Sydney didn't know what the night was going to entail, and again, she hated that lack of control. Still, she knew that they should tell Jane, and wasn't going to take back her suggestion.
With her earrings in place, Sydney studied herself in the mirror, straightening out her dress, and then tinkering with her hair slightly. She knew that she looked good, but she still didn't want to have to go downstairs and deal with anyone. Sydney was never one to shy away from the limelight, but she was also still trying to recuperate from the emotional display she had put on for Sienna minutes before. She was in the mindset that she needed to regain control over herself, but that was tested when Sienna continued speaking, and then came over with a text that had Sydney's jaw drop. "Drugs? She has to be making that up. Jane, of all people, using drugs?!" It was unbelievable. Jane drank a lot, that was obvious, and Jane didn't eat enough to be considered sick, but she wasn't a drug user. She wasn't that crazy. That wasn't a secret that Jane could hide from not only them, but like Sienna said, the people living in her own house. It just didn't seem possible. Sydney tried to recall any time when Jane had ever used drugs, or even mentioned drugs, but nothing came to mind.
"Maybe Carolina just didn't tell you. She's really nasty to Jane, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the one getting her the drugs through all of the sketchy people she's probably friends with." As soon as she finished speaking, though, she remembered finding Jane at the bar with Sienna's friend, Hailey, who Sydney assumed was buying drugs from Brent. Later on, when Sydney tried to get Jane on her side about Hailey being a reflection of how trashy Sienna was, Jane oddly knew that the drugs were Ritalin. It was such a specific drug to know the looks of, but Sydney was so content on spinning the situation to make Sienna look bad, that she accepted the answer as the truth. Now, the pieces were fitting together, but Sydney still couldn't believe that this was just Jane's doing. "Wait, remember when your friend Hailey was buying drugs from Brent? I showed them to Jane, and she knew, like within a second, that those pills were Ritalin pills or something. She said that Piper uses them, and I didn't think that she was lying, because honestly, Piper's that type of girl," Sydney said, trying to defend herself, but also taking a dig at Piper. "You know I don't deal with drugs, I don't even know what Ritalin is, but maybe Piper told Victoria that, or something. Maybe she's trying to cover up for herself. You don't actually think that Jane could possibly be using drugs, Sienna. She's not... she's not slick enough to keep this all from us. We're good friends, we would have noticed!" Her words were getting frantic again, but her voice had lowered into a hushed tone, knowing that Sienna had told Jane to come upstairs moments before.
Maybe Jane was living up to her reputation of being ditsy, but she had absolutely no idea as to why Tori would want to talk to her, and what this "important" topic would be. She knew nothing about Tori's relation to the blog, and nothing about the friendship that Tori and Brent had. There was no way that she could have suspected that Victoria was privy to her secret, so Jane felt like she was going to have the upper hand in this conversation. She pulled Lottie along with her because she didn't want to talk with the loser alone, but when Victoria brought up Brent, and that she was "begging" for something from him, Jane's mouth fell agape. If she wasn't completely caught off guard, she probably would have started crying, because it would have fit in perfectly with how unstable she was feeling as of lately. Jane stared at Victoria like a deer in headlights for a good few seconds, and then looked back at Charlotte. The blonde was looking at her phone, but Jane was sure she was close enough to have heard. Charlotte was the one who was rumored to have been dating Brent, too. What if she knew what Tori meant? What if everyone knew? Jane didn't know what to do. Should she run out of the apartment? To the kitchen and down a bottle of Absolut? Should she try to talk to Victoria, and beg her not to say anything again, or remain here in front of Charlotte, and try to act like this was a big misunderstanding. Jane's head was spinning, and suddenly, the idea of passing out didn't seem so scary. Maybe she'd hit her head and have to go to the hospital, and she could avoid all of this for the night.
"I- I don't know what you're talking about!" Jane finally said. She wanted it to come out as a quick snap, but her voice was more shaky than she expected it to be, and without excusing herself, she was brushing past Victoria and moving as quickly as her heels would allow her, until she was upstairs. Her fear of Sydney was no longer at the top of her mind, and she barged into Sienna's room without even considering the anger Sydney probably still held for her. Her instincts told her to start crying and tell Sienna and Sydney how mean Victoria was being to her, so that they could handle it, but this was a situation where that wouldn't help her. If she did that, she would have to either admit that what Victoria had on her was true, and face the questions over that, or deny it, but still face skepticism. Jane knew that her friends didn't really trust her at this point, and while she couldn't blame them, she still didn't want anyone to be in her business. So, as difficult as it was for her, she didn't burst into tears. Instead, she closed the door behind her and slowed herself down when she was a few feet into the room. She wasn't going to start crying, but she couldn't give a real smile either. Instead, she tried to brighten her expression, and took a seat on the edge of Sienna's bed. "You guys look pretty," she said quietly, her eyes scanning the room as she made eye contact with everything besides her friends' eyes. Her thoughts were racing, but one of the ones that were on her mind, was that she needed to text Piper. Even if Piper hadn't told Tori that she was begging for more pills from Brent, she was going to blame Piper for letting Brent tell Tori.
Sienna ended up backing up the second after Sydney finished reading the text, knowing that they needed to hurry up and finish getting ready just in case something falls apart downstairs. More than that, if the guys started showing up. Sienna had specifically said she was going with anyone, especially since when things were usually good, she'd have Adam to fall back on. Whom she really needed to check in on when she got the chance. But still, she wanted to be ready for the party soon and entertain the remaining girls.
At least, she would be able to do if her mind wasn't focused on Jane.
"That's the thing with illness. You never know how serious it is until it starts affecting every little thing you do, even the lies you tell," she stated solemnly, staring back into the mirror of her vanity, set her phone down, and the proceeded to work on her eye makeup. Thinking about Jane and the lengths she was willing to go to in order to keep her desire for weight loss a secret was...it was no longer just heartbreaking. It was terrifying. Sienna had thought that she could identify with her friend when she first found about her eating disorder. She understood the desire to fit a certain image and she knew the lengths people would go to in order to achieve the goal and yet...and yet she had never felt so alone as to think drugs - of all things - would be the answer. It was disconcerting and a frightening thought. She at least had Esmee to think about when making a decision like that. She could only wonder if Jane didn't think she could look to them for that kind of strength in the face of her insecurities...
...if they had actually failed at being "good friends," as Sydney suggested that they were. She was also wondering if that was a selfish thought. Her thoughts seemed scattered and uncontrollable in the wake of Jane's illness and having to deal with the normally pliant girl being so fucking elusive.
As she finished up her eyes, Sienna paused and glanced back at Sydney when the blonde regaled her with the events of that night. She remembered, only momentarily sour, how Sydney treated her friend. She also recalled Sydney bringing up the drugs and while Sienna had never brought it up to Hailey, at the time she had been puzzled by the idea of it. Hailey wouldn't have done the drugs. Not for weight loss. Maybe something else, depression, perhaps? But never weight loss. And even still, how would she have ever known that Brent was the one to buy them from when she had only just arrived in New York the day before? She hadn't even allowed Jane to be an option.
"None of this is making sense," Sienna exclaimed in frustration, turning her focus - albeit, distractedly - to her lips. "If Jane was buying drugs from Brent before all of this, and that's the thought process we're having, then what would stop her from doing it now?" She pondered it aloud, switching the pencil with the brush for a more effective application of the red color. "Obviously, she must have still been buying if he brought pills to the party - "
Jane burst into the room, shut the door behind her, and Sienna fell absolutely silent.
Something was wrong. Jane seemed a bit pale, and Sienna partly chalked it up to the fact that Jane probably skipped a meal or two during the day, and she wouldn't meet their gazes. She exchanged a worried look with Sydney before setting her supplies down and making her way to the edge of the bed, not sitting. Just staring at the brunette imploringly and not even acknowledging the commentary about their appearances. They both knew they looked good. They didn't need to be told that. They needed to be told some truths. "Ok, what happened? And no, don't try to feed me some bullshit excuse about how it's nothing and you're just ready to go hard. What. Happened? Sienna demanded, speaking slowly but with no desire to let the situation go as Jane would typically require of her. And, if all else failed, she knew that Sydney had her back on this.
Running out of Sienna's apartment definitely would have been a better option than this. Jane's eyes darted towards the door as Sienna approached her, and she tried to time out how long it would take her to get to it without being in physical reach of either of the girls. Though she always preferred heels because they made her legs look longer and slimmer, she was cursing herself for wearing them tonight. She needed a quick escape, and heels made that impossible. By the time she looked back at Sienna, she was standing in front of her, and there was no where to run to. Not only was she physically trapped, but verbally as well. Apparently, Sienna wasn't looking to play games, and just as apparently, Jane's frazzled state was obvious in her appearance. The blonde demanded to know what was wrong, and rejected Jane's go-to excuse before she could even utter a word. That put her back into her deer-in-headlights look, and again, she considered just being honest, but that was going to be too hard. She couldn't handle the questions and the demands for more information. Not only did she want to keep it a secret so she could continue keeping her illness alive, but she was kind of ashamed of it. It motivated her to push past the dreadful physical symptoms of the illness when she was alone, but when she was around her friends and was reminded of how abnormal her behavior was, she was embarrassed by it, or at least her lack of control of it.
"Wha- what? Nothing happened." She could sense her face becoming more pale now, as she shifted backwards on the bed a little bit farther. "Nothing to a point where you need to curse at me. I... I just didn't think that you were going to invite Carolina. She said something rude when I came in, but whatever, it's not a big deal. I really do want to go hard tonight. Are we all friends again?" Jane was more than just anxious. She was glad that she didn't eat anything since this morning for more reasons than one, but now, because she was sure she would be getting sick if there was anything in her stomach to actually come up. Victoria knew about her dealings with Brent, and now she was being pressed by Sienna and Sydney, like she was a criminal or something. Her eyes switched to the door again. Was it still too late to run?
Sydney and Sienna hadn't been on the same wavelength like this in a long time, and Sienna was right. None of this was making sense. Sydney was glad that she wasn't the only one who was completely mind boggled over the entire premise of Jane using drugs, and managing to hide it from everyone. And for Victoria Walsh, of all people, to be the first one to find out. Sydney had finished checking her own appearance out, and stood a few feet from Sienna as she watched the girl finish her makeup, and think out loud. She couldn't finish speaking, and Sydney didn't have a chance to agree or further the conversation, because there was Jane, bursting into the room and closing the door behind her. Sydney would have preferred that she and Sienna come up with a solid approach before dealing with Jane directly, but that was out of the question now. If Sienna hadn't demanded a real explanation, Sydney would have, and she allowed Sienna to take the lead in talking, but quickly found herself next to the other blonde.
Sydney could feel her face tighten up as she looked at Jane. She was pale, and she was thinner than she should have been. With this new information on hand, Sydney was unsure if this was even the same Jane that she loved. She seemed like a completely new person with everything that was coming to light, and maybe it was the face of the illness, as Sienna claimed, but still, Sydney couldn't come to terms with Jane having that much depth. Maybe it was offensive and wrong to think, but Jane was supposed to be the simplest one out of the three. It was just how it had always been, and now Sydney was unsure if it had actually never been that way, and she and Sienna were really the oblivious ones. When Jane claimed that she looked so shaken because she was surprised to see Carolina, and because Carolina had said something mean, the competitive side of Sydney wanted to say "I told you so!" to Sienna. She held back though, because for once, this wasn't about Sydney trying to prove that she was the best.
This was about her and Sienna finding out the truth, and Sydney had already come to terms with the fact that she couldn't do this on her own. "You're lying." The idea of Carolina getting to Jane wasn't outlandish, because it was the very thing that had happened the day before, and Sydney had witnessed that first hand. However, she just had this gut feeling that Jane was lying, and if nothing else, she doubted that Jane was shocked that Carolina was invited. Sydney had spent the past week drilling the idea that Sienna was trying to replace them with Carolina and Charlotte into Jane's mind. Plus, she lived with Carolina, and it had to have been mentioned at some point, that Carolina might have been going to Sienna's. "You've been lying about a lot lately. Like, how the drugs that you were trying to buy from Brent at my party were actually for Hailey. Ring a bell?" Sydney didn't know if she was supposed to wait and bring it up in a more delicate way, but she wasn't going to let Jane conjure up any more excuses and lies. She didn't think that Jane could weasel her way out of this, if she was confronted with the truth. At the same time, maybe minutes before they were supposed to leave for Piper's party wasn't the best time to do it, but Sydney wasn't going to be able to do anything if she allowed Jane to continue to disrespect them with these unbelievable lies.
When Sydney stepped beside Sienna, it was confirmed that it was definitely too late to run. Jane definitely feared Sydney more than Sienna. "Feared" wasn't a word that one would normally associate with friends, and it wasn't the normal dynamic of Jane's relationship with the girls, but she knew she was in the wrong. Ever since her illness had started to take over her life, her relationships with most people shifted into her fearing that people would find out her secret, and more so, that they would try to intervene. Hiding her illness from Sienna and Sydney had been extremely trying, especially because Jane was usually the one who was so open about everything. Her friends never had to be inquisitive or suspicious, because Jane never used to hesitate to share things about her life, but this was something that she couldn't share with anyone. She didn't want help... or she didn't want help most of the time, at least. As the disorder took over her life more and more, it became harder to hide, and she had to start lying to cover for it. As the lies grew larger and more frequent, her own paranoia grew, because she knew her friends weren't stupid. She had gotten away with it for a while, but she knew that they would find out eventually. And then they did, and Jane thought that that was bad. But now, her friends not only knew that she was really sick, but someone she wasn't friends with knew that she was sick too. Sick to a point where she was buying drugs, like some addict, and living up to Tori's claim that she was basically begging for said drugs.
Jane wanted to keep lying because she felt like she needed to. She was in too deep, and she didn't want to give up now. It was nothing short of sick, but she still wanted those pills. Even after seeing how socially dangerous it was, she still wanted to somehow get her hands on them, even if it meant that she still had to go through Brent. "No, I don't know what you're talking about," Jane objected, though her voice was more of a mumble now. The gig was up, and it seemed like she had to give up, but she couldn't. If she admitted to buying drugs from Brent, what was going to happen next? They would try to help her by doing something stupid, like telling her dad, and getting her sent to a hospital. Jane would not let that happen. She wasn't going to own up to anything, even if the way that she shifted backwards and refused to look at either of them professed her guilt just as clearly as her words could have. "And you're both being really mean to me for no reason, so maybe I should just go home." It was a preempt for her escape, but she didn't move from her spot on the bed.
╭━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╮
S I E N N A ~ A L VA R E Z
"We've been best friends for too long for it to feel like you're a stranger."
Outfit|| Matthew Williamson Halter gown w/
Giuseppe Zanotti stilettos & embroidered Marchesa clutch
Location || Her Bedroom
IPod || Control by Halsey
Mood|| Concerned
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S I E N N A ~ A L VA R E Z
"We've been best friends for too long for it to feel like you're a stranger."
Outfit|| Matthew Williamson Halter gown w/
Giuseppe Zanotti stilettos & embroidered Marchesa clutch
Location || Her Bedroom
IPod || Control by Halsey
Mood|| Concerned
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They were a united front, like they had originally planned to be, when confronting Jane and her issues. And she could tell the brunette realized that. Her eyes widened, she seemed to pale even more, and more importantly, she couldn't offer up an excuse. Sure, Jane might have offered her typical complaint of the two of them being mean to her; she said that to a lot of people. Oh, you called Jane out on being spoiled? Obviously you were being mean. That she was lying? Oh, definitely mean. Wouldn't let her copy your homework? Meanest person that ever meaned...or some other bullshit like that. But Sienna wasn't having it, not this time around.
"Like hell you are," she snapped without preamble. But it was too late to take it back and she knew that the fierceness in her eyes might get to her friend, but Jane had to see how serious they both were. "You've been lying to us for god knows how long and it's gotta stop!" The impassioned cry, much more typical of Sienna, shocked her back into sobriety. Sienna didn't want to cause Jane to bolt and she shot, firstly, an apologetic glance to Sydney, and then back to Jane who was probably more than ready to ignore them for the rest of the night in favor of hiding out in her bedroom. So, Sienna took the time to cross the space between herself and Jane, sitting on the side of Jane that would be in the way just in case the brunette actually decided to run.
She had to soften her voice when she spoke again, but grasping Jane's hand gently in both of her own forced Sienna to speak just a little softer. "J...it's one thing to find out from your mom that you're...sick. But it's a completely different story to hear you keep lying to us about it...about everything?" Sienna didn't mean to, she really didn't, but the hurt bled through in both her eyes and voice when she asked, "Don't you trust us?"
Sydney should have known that being confrontational and aggressive, even if it wasn't really aggressive, wasn't going to do any good with Jane. Her response, calling she and Sienna mean, was so typical, that it frustrated Sydney enough to want to start shouting again, but she couldn't. It reminded her of who Jane was, and how she worked. Though Sydney was doubting how well she knew Jane at the moment, she knew that screaming and trying to shake the truth out of Jane would never work. It would only make her run, and she seemed to remember that in the same moment as Sienna, who following her own version of snapping at Jane, seemed to soften too. "Yeah, do you trust us?" The answer was clearly a no at this point, but Sydney decided that she needed to give Jane a chance to explain herself too. She would follow Sienna's lead and try to be gentler, because despite being angry at Jane, the root of all of this was that they were concerned for Jane's well being. Jane could ditch Sydney a million times, but her friend's health status forced her to forget that animosity - for the moment, at least.
After a moment's hesitation, she took a seat on the bed on the side of Jane that was still unoccupied. She didn't go as far as to hold Jane's hand like Sienna did, but Sydney's expression was soft now, and genuinely so. It was sad that this was what they were doing during the first time that they three were actually hanging out together, on their own, without tension between her and Sienna, but something about it reminded her of their old dynamics. "We love you so much, Jane, and we just want you to talk to us. We want to help you, but if you just keep lying, we can't do anything, and you need help from someone. This isn't you... lying, and being so unhealthy and so unhappy... We just want you to be okay, and if you don't want us to help you, you have to get help from someone else. Obviously this problem is bigger than you want to admit it is, and we aren't going to sit here and watch it consume you." Sydney had never actually vocalized her concern for Jane like this. The first time that the girls confronted Jane about her illness, Sydney had been audacious, to say the least. There was little concern for Jane's actual well-being, and she had used it as a tool to throw Sienna under the bus. It was so wrong, and this was Sydney's way of taking that back. She couldn't actually apologize for it, because apologizing was basically impossible for her, but she would try to make it right, because she really did care. Everything she said, she meant.
While she wanted Jane to trust them and let them help her, she didn't know if it was possible. The fact that Jane was using drugs to fuel her eating disorder increased the severity of this by a lot, and Sydney didn't know if they could help. If Jane was completely willing to let them help her, and actually promised to be honest, it could work. The three of them had been like sisters at one point, and now that she and Sienna were good, Sydney thought that they could team up and really work on this with Jane. The likelihood of Jane agreeing to that seemed slim, considering that she wouldn't even admit that she had a problem, but if that was the case, Sydney knew that they couldn't just sit back and watch their friend wither away. They would have to reach out to Jane's mom or Adrian, and if that resulted in Jane being sent back into treatment, and them losing their best friend for a period of time, it was what was going to have to happen. It would be for Jane's own good.
When Sienna became more emotional, Jane could feel tears welling up in her eyes. No one liked being yelled at or ganged up on, but that was especially true for Jane. It probably had something to do with her upbringing, and how "no" was something that she rarely heard. When she didn't get her way, all it took were some tears and victimizing herself in order for her to gain the sympathy she wanted, in addition to whatever it was that she originally requested. Feeling trapped and helpless, with no way to get out of something wasn't something that she was used to, and when her declaration that the girls were being unfairly mean didn't get her anywhere, crying seemed like the only other option to buy her some time in this mess. It wasn't like she had to force them to fall, anyway. As soon as Sienna took a different approach to it, and sat down and squeezed her hand, Jane could feel a trail of tears streaming down her cheeks.
Aside from not liking the way that she couldn't control this conversation, Jane didn't like how she was being ganged up on. She had been begging Sydney and Sienna to make up all week, but she didn't want them to make up, just to bully her. That wasn't part of the plan. They were just supposed to be friends again! And yeah, this was probably them trying to be good friends, but Jane didn't want their help. She didn't want to be put on the spot and questioned about whether she trusted them or not, because that wasn't something that was easy to answer truthfully. Of course, she didn't hesitate to let out an, "Of course I trust you," after Sienna, and then Sydney questioned it. She couldn't say that they were being mean now, but she didn't want the attention at all. She wanted this conversation to be dropped for now, and for good. Maybe she was lucky that she had gotten this far without really having to address it to them, but she didn't think she ever needed to. She thought that she had it all under control, but maybe this was bigger than she thought it was. Still, she couldn't admit it. No matter how true everything her friends were saying was, this was something that was ingrained in Jane's mind. It was an illness that had ruined her life in so many ways, and it had trained her into thinking that everyone's care was disingenuous and ill-willed. Even though it was hard for her to believe those thoughts right now, since she did trust Sydney and Sienna with everything aside from this illness, she could at least agree with the thoughts that told her that she needed to hold onto the disorder for now. It was a part of her identity, and besides, she had already tried getting better, and that only made her crash harder when she got home.
Right now, all she wanted to believe was that the illness would go away once she reached a weight that was low enough to make her look and feel good. Jane was smart enough to know that physically, losing weight would only make her feel worse and that she would never be satisfied with her weight, no matter how low it was, but knowing something didn't mean she had to believe it. It was complicated, something that Jane couldn't even make sense of half of the time, and that too, made it harder to confide in the girls. Even if she wanted to talk to them, she didn't know what to say. If she couldn't understand it, how would they?
"I'm not lying to you guys, okay? I went into treatment over the summer, and they let me out, which means I'm better. I'm not sick anymore. I wasn't ever really sick, okay? I still go to a doctor, so I'm getting all of the help that I need and I literally wasn't buying anything from Brent that night. I didn't- I...," Jane paused. She was being honest that she wasn't buying anything from Brent on the night of Sydney's party. At that point, Jane was fresh out of treatment and genuinely was not thinking about buying from Brent. In fact, she had been actively avoiding him all night, so as not to tempt herself, but when he found her at the bar with Hailey, she was too gone to even really realize that he was there, or what he was tossing onto the counter. So far, she wasn't really lying. The suggestion that she wasn't sick anymore, and was never sick might have been exaggerations, but she felt like if that was her opinion, they couldn't be counted as lies. However, she knew that if she tried to claim that she had never bought drugs from Brent, and that she was offended that they would even suggest that, then she would be lying. And she didn't want to do that. Not now, when she and her best friends were having such a real moment. At the same time, it was unrealistic and impossible for Jane to suddenly abandon the illness that was not only her clutch, but a part of who she was.
She didn't know what to do, and she kept her gaze focused on tracing the pattern on Sienna's carpet as she tried to figure it out. "Piper and I used to buy from him sometimes when we needed to lose weight, but it's not like serious, okay? Piper takes them whenever I do too, and it's not like she's dying. She's the one who suggested that we start buying from him again this year, anyway, so if anyone has a problem to be concerned with, it's her." Jane genuinely didn't start that thought with the intention of throwing Piper under the bus, but oh well! It wasn't like Piper had her back this week anyway. She was clearly downplaying her own problems, but Jane was actually proud of herself for being honest. Maybe she would regret it, and maybe she would shut down ten times harder if the girls pushed any further, but she was being honest for the first time in a while. She didn't think that she had much choice in the matter, but still, she was telling most of the truth, and it felt relieving enough that she was able to stop the tears as she tilted her head back, attempting to stop her watery eyes from ruining her makeup any more.
Spending the afternoon before with Leon was nice, because following that, Piper transformed into the party host version of a bridezilla. Unlike the other girls, she couldn't afford to hire the city's best party planners and she didn't have hired help who would take care of every little need. She had managed to get a college student who was majoring in event planning to act as a free intern for experience, but that wasn't good enough to make her party perfect. Piper had to pick up the slack, and that meant that all day, she was freaking out about whether to correct flowers would arrive, if the food would be good, and if people were actually going to enjoy themselves. This was senior year, which meant that her party not only had to live up to the ones thrown in the past by Sydney, Jane and Sienna, but it also had to be good enough to start senior year off on the right note. There were so many expectations to live up to, and on top of the pressure of that, Piper had just drained her savings account, and done some things that she wasn't proud of to make this party come together. It had to go well. There was no other option.
After school, she headed directly to the venue to make sure that the employees had already started to make her masquerade ball come to live. Surprisingly, and thankfully, they were, and she had little complaints to make while there. After that, she headed to the shop of the seamstress who was tailoring her dress. A modelling friend, who thankfully had no connections with her friend group, was lending the feathered Oscar de la Renta gown to her for the night. While Amy insisted that it made her look like a grey, washed out version of Big Bird, Piper was satisfied with her reflection when she tried it on, and even more so, when she looked at her finished appearance after getting her hair and makeup done at Sienna's. She looked good, and her foster mother could fuck off, just as Piper had told her to do when she made the initial comment.
After impulsively popping a few snacks into her mouth and finishing off her drink, the makeup artist had to touch up her look once more, and that was when she noticed Jane, and then Carolina coming in, minutes apart. Jane ignored her and flocked over to Charlotte, and Piper couldn't resist rolling her eyes. She's just lucky that Sydney's not down here. Piper hadn't said more than one or two sentences to Sydney today, but everyone with a brain could tell that she was pissed off. A lot of them probably just assumed that it was because she and Sienna were on bad terms, and she didn't want to be there, but Piper knew how flighty Jane was, and that was definitely pissing Sydney off too. Reminding herself that Sydney wasn't down there, forced her to register that Sienna wasn't down there either, and she recalled how during her lips being painted the first time, she and Sydney had left together. Fuck! That wasn't supposed to happen. Unless Sienna was pummeling Sydney as they spoke, that seemed like bad new for Piper, who was praying that the two blondes would remain at odds for as long as possible. If Sienna and Sydney were friends, or even just civil, it meant that Sienna was bowing down to the idea of remaining in the position of Sydney's sidekick. And that meant, even more, that Piper was going to be stuck at the bottom tier of the group. She knew that she didn't have time to worry about that tonight, but she couldn't help it. Then, to make her brain spin even more, as she looked up to see Carolina approaching her, she saw Victoria holding Jane's arm and talking to her. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Sienna had mentioned that Tori was trying to come for Jane, and Piper knew that that had to relate to her weight issue. Piper wouldn't put it past Victoria, but just posting about how Jane had an eating disorder would be pretty lame. It would be mean and uninteresting, though Piper didn't doubt it would stir up controversy among the wannabes who were obsessed with chronicling the "perfect" lives that the four of them lived. What Tori really needed to make a good, juicy post, was knowledge that Jane was abusing drugs from Brent in order to lose weight, and if that somehow came to light, Piper was royally screwed. It wasn't like she could trust Jane with keeping her mouth shut, either. No one could. Even if Jane wasn't trying to blab about something, she'd likely end up doing it in an innocent, unknowing or impulsive way anyway. It was endearing, sometimes, when she was leaking Sienna or Sydney's secrets, but not when Piper's social life was on the line.
"I'm actually about to head over there now. I have to make sure that they're adhering to the guest list I left them, because I don't want any losers getting in." Piper was too distracted by Jane and Tori, and now Charlotte too, to sense or even return Carolina's playfulness. It was obvious that she was disconnected from her reality for the moment, and didn't even apologize for whipping out her phone and sending a text back to Sienna. Now, she couldn't even focus on how Sienna seemed to say that she and Sydney were fine. She was too worried about herself, and as soon as the text was sent and the makeup artist stepped away, Piper grabbed Carolina's hand. "Come with me. I need to talk to you on the way there."
To: Sienna
Yeah, heading over there now with Carrie! Thanks for the wonderful pre-party! Heads up that our anonymous blog writer was just chatting with Jane... guess she's heading up to you now bc I have no idea where she went...
"I think the grey suits you," his mother remarked from where she stood at his bedroom door. Leon shook his head as he pulled off the suit jacket. His mother had supplied him with no less than five suits for the party. He'd known as soon as he'd saw them which would look the best on him and with his mask- but just to humour her, he'd tried them all on to show her.
"The Armani fits better. And black looks better with the mask," he said. They both knew that if Sarah had still been alive, his mother would have been with her and not him. Then again, had Sarah been alive, Leon wouldn't be attending Piper's party at all. They would still be in Boston, attending someone else's party with different people.
"True. I'll leave you to get changed, then. Are you meeting up with anyone beforehand?" She asked. He shook his head as he sat down on the bed to take off his shoes. "Nope. Carolina is at Sienna Alverez's, and I'm guessing Piper's still sorting everything out. Everybody else is doing their own thing, or going with their girlfriends," he said. His mother nodded, looking like she wanted to say something else, but then she left the room.
Just after she closed the door, his phone buzzed with a text. Waking the screen, he saw it was from Carolina and grinned, opening it and typing out a quick reply.
"Absolutely. Trust me, after the amount of suits I had to model for mother dearest, I'm going. How's Sienna's?"
He tossed the phone back onto the bed and changed into his preferred suit. As soon as Leon had hit puberty, his father had made sure that he knew how to tie his own bow-ties, making some comment about the amount of parties he'd be attending. It was just further proof of how out of touch his father was with teenagers, because this was one of the first parties Leon had been to where suits were mandatory. It was probably just as well that his father's newspaper wasn't aimed towards teenagers, because his father probably would have written an editorial about the guidelines for courting or something.
Fully dressed, and with the mask close to hand, Leon realised that he had no clue what time anyone else was turning up, or what the story was. Lying back on his bed, he retrieved his phone and sent Connor a quick text.
"Hey. All dressed up and ready to go, but also don't want to seem too eager. Please advise on a good time to leave the house."
'Why can't she just be honest?!', was what Sydney thought when Jane stopped talking as she seemed to reconsider whatever she was about to say about Brent's drugs from that night. Everything that she had just said was so typical of the Jane they had been dealing with since she got back. The whole "I'm better", "I'm out of treatment for a reason", and "My dad was just overreacting", was getting old, and they were equal to blatant lies, because it was completely obvious that Jane was not okay. She knew she was sick too, or else she wouldn't have gone to all of these lengths to hide the illness from everyone. Their friend wasn't as unintelligent as her academic reports would suggest, so in what world did she think that they would buy her claim that she wasn't sick anymore. It was absurd! She was sicker than Sydney had ever seen her. Sydney didn't jump in during that pause, though she wanted to, and maybe it was a good thing that she didn't, because Jane actually confessed some association with Brent. Apparently, she had bought drugs from him to lose weight at some point, and with Piper. Admitting that she had bought drugs before made it seem very unlikely that she wasn't buying drugs on the night of Sydney's party, but for the moment, Sydney was more caught up on the fact that Piper was involved in all of this, to press that issue.
Sydney wouldn't even consider the possibility that maybe Jane was lying as this and using Piper as an excuse to remove the blame from her. It wasn't difficult to do, considering that Sydney didn't like Piper, and additionally, wanted to be able to say that if anyone should have realized, it should have been Sienna. She was closer to the redhead than Sydney was, especially in the past few days. Really, Sydney knew that neither of them could have known. Out of Piper and Jane, if either of them were going to leak the information, it would have been Jane, and Sydney would have been able to get that out of Jane just as easily as Sienna could have. Sydney wanted to know how much Piper actually knew about this, though. She had made it a point to keep Piper out of the conversations with Sienna involving Jane, but Sydney never doubted that Piper knew that Jane had weight-related issues. She and Jane seemed close enough, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, Piper was part of the group, so it was understandable that she would find things out. However, there was a major difference between finding out after she and Sienna, and not only knowing about Jane's condition, but apparently aiding in it as well. So, within the last half-hour, Sydney found out that she had not only underestimated Tori Walsh, but Piper Vine as well. It was a hit to her confidence, but she tried to remind herself that this was a time when she needed to focus on Jane, and not herself.
She flashed Sienna a concerned, and unknowingly, helpless look. What were they supposed to do? Sydney claimed to be an expert at a lot of things, but she wasn't a psychologist, and finding out that Jane really was abusing drugs to fuel her disorder was scary. When it came to Jane, too, whatever she admitted was really ten times worse in real life, so Sydney still had no doubt that she was trying to buy from Brent at her party. In fact, Sydney was in the mindset that Jane had probably been taking them all week. She had said that Piper got her started on them again "this year", which meant she had been using them before she went into treatment too. Again, it only reminded Sydney how out of it she and Sienna must have been. Maybe, if Sydney hadn't been so focused on one-upping Sienna, she would have noticed the signs. She knew she couldn't blame herself for this, and that she had to save that anger for Piper, but she did feel guilty. Jane was so different, and Sydney didn't know what to do or how to fix it. "Are you crazy? You think that you're not sick, and yet you buy drugs to lose weight? To fucking lose weight, Jane? Why would you let Piper talk you into that?" she had shifted her gaze to Sienna at that last question, almost as if Sienna might have some answer for her friend, Piper's involvement. "When was the last time you used them?" Sydney knew that it was getting late. She wasn't particularly concerned about showing to Piper's event late, and especially not after this, but she also didn't want the boys coming inside to socialize.
"I didn't even get to see Sienna, but I guess I'll come..." Carolina had only arrived at Sienna's a few minutes before, and the hostess herself hadn't even come downstairs since then, but Carolina was sure that Sienna would understand.
"She's busy with Sydney anyway, I doubt she would have even noticed whether you were here or not," Piper replied. She wasn't even trying to be dismissive, but she was too involved in freaking out over what she imagined was going on to have manners right now. Piper knew that Sia was busy with Sydney, but she was also possibly busy with learning about how bad of a person Piper had been recently. And there were those thoughts again, about how she couldn't stand for her party to be ruined because she had invested so much money into it, and she couldn't stand for her social life to be ruined, because she had invested so much time and energy, and money, too, into that.
Carolina was tolerant of a lot of things. It probably didn't seem that way recently, because she had reached her limit with Jane and was always feeling a little petty around her, but with life in general, it took a lot to get Carolina pissed off. She was pretty passive, and unless someone was really bothering her, she usually kept her mouth shut. However, Piper was someone she was very close with, and she was someone who was on the same level as her. Behind the guise of being a rich socialite, Piper was a low to middle class, foster teen, and before moving in with the Lynch's, Carolina was too. They both understood the difficulties of life more than some of their peers, and when she was interacting with Piper alone, she saw how genuine and good of a person the girl was. Even days like yesterday, when they were hanging out with Leon, Carrie saw that side of her. She loved it, and she loved Piper, but she also felt comfortable enough with her to speak her mind when she was annoyed. So, when she matched Piper's near-jogging speed as she hurried into Sienna's elevator, Carrie turned to her with a look that demanded an explanation. "Damn, I know you're stressed and all with this party, but you don't have to be a bitch to me."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry, Car. It's more than the party, though. Do you think you can call Max to pick us up? I was really planning on just taking the limo with the others, but I'm freaking out."
"It'll take too long for him to get over here. Let's just get a cab." Carolina didn't press for information yet, knowing that it would be easier to do it when they were in the car. It wasn't a talent she needed now, with the Lynch's personal driver, but Carrie was a pro at hailing cabs, from all of her years as a "normal" person in New York, and within a minute, they were seated in the back of one. "So, what's freaking you out this much?"
"Okay, you have to promise you won't tell anyone this, and that you won't get mad at me. I wanted to tell you yesterday, but then Leon came, and I couldn't."
"I won't, I won't. Just tell me, you're acting like you murdered someone or something!"
"Okay, well, I've probably told you about how Brent and I are friends. Just friends, obviously. Like, he's actually a nice guy and stuff behind the sketchiness, and we worked on a science fair project a few years ago, and... I don't know, he's just more normal than he seems. Anyway, one day I was hanging out with him last year, and Jane showed up, because I guess she had been buying prescription pills from him, that had weight loss side effects. I didn't want her to know that I was actually friends with him, so I told her that I was there for the same reason that she was, and I had to keep up the appearance that I was using the same drugs as her. Like, it seems harmless, but it got out of control really quickly, because it went from me not wanting the girls to know I was friends with Brent, to me knowing that Jane was taking drugs and not being able to tell the girls because I was pretending to be taking them too. I would go with Jane a few times a week to get the pills from Brent, but I would always just give him back my share of whatever he gave us, and then Jane went away for treatment, or whatever, over the summer, and I really was going to let it die out there. But I needed money for this party badly, Carrie... like really badly, and Brent really wanted Jane back as a client, so I convinced her to start using them again. I know it was stupid and I know it was wrong, but I knew that she was going to start using them again anyway, and I really needed the money! She's been begging me to ask him for more, but he won't give her any because someone's telling him not to, and then I found out through Sienna, that Victoria Walsh runs that gossip blog everyone's talking about, and that she has dirt on Jane, and I just know that's the dirt that she has! What else could it be?! And if she exposes that about Jane, then I'm screwed! I'm so, so, so, fucking screwed, Car! My life will be ruined, and my party will be ruined, and I can't handle that! Not tonight, at least!" Piper had spoken so quickly, that she couldn't blame Carolina for the surprised and processing look on her face. Piper tried to read it, hoping that Carolina might have some piece of advice or assurance for her, or at least a little bit of sympathy, but she couldn't tell what the brunette was thinking. Her mind was still moving at a rate of a mile per minute, and as another idea popped into her mind, she decided to speak again before waiting for Carolina's response. "If it comes out... if it all comes out with me being involved with this, will you tell the girls, Sienna and Sydney, that Jane's making it up? That she's trying to blame me to get herself into less trouble? You can tell them that her parents have known about her drug issue for a while, and maybe that it's even something they had to address in therapy! You can be creative, but make it look like I had no involvement. Please, Carrie? Please, please, please?"
That was a lot to take in, to say the least, but without even thinking about it too much, Carolina's gut reaction was to nod her head. She knew Piper was wrong, and even though she disliked Jane very strongly, lately, she knew that what Piper did was manipulative and beyond being a bad friend. Carolina would be the first person to minimize Jane's illness, but convincing her to abuse drugs for her own financial gain was something that Carrie even recognized as being really bad. Piper was a good friend, possibly her best, and Carolina could tell that she was really scared, and maybe she was only sorry because she got caught, but Carolina wanted to help her. The idea of Jane lying to blame Piper instead of accepting responsibility was something that would fit into Jane's character so well, that Carolina didn't even think it would be hard to do. She supposed that if it came out, she could use the lie to Sienna, and maybe clear Piper's name. If that was what being a good friend meant, Carolina would agree to do it for now. "Yeah, I guess I can do that. You know I've got your back, now just calm down. Maybe you're freaking out over nothing. We should enjoy this party, and if it comes out, just know that I've got your back, okay?"
A wave- no, a tsunami, of relief rushed over Piper when Carolina confirmed that she would cover for her. She gave her friend's hand a squeeze, before deciding that that wasn't enough, and tossed her arms around Carolina's neck. "Thank you, I really owe you." When she released her, and they stepped out of the cab, Piper managed to send a text just as Carolina was doing the same.
To: Brent
Delete any text I've ever sent you. If shit gets out about Jane, you better fucking vouch for me that I had no idea or involvement.
To: Leon
Lmao good! I was only at Sienna's for a little... Piper wanted me to make her grand entrance with her, so I'm there now. Come and entertain me lol.
By the time that Jane realized that she had said too much, it was too late. It had already been said, and there Sydney was, pressing for more. Right now, Jane didn't really care about throwing Piper under the bus, but she regretted saying anything, because it meant that she would get more questions. She should have known that admitting to anything would only negate her earlier statement that she wasn't sick, but Jane wasn't thinking straight. She just wanted this conversation to end, and although she would have preferred it end by the girls giving up and leaving her alone, so they could enjoy the night, she also wasn't opposed to going home. If her father and Nicole were still there, she would face questions about why she was home so soon, but she could shut them down. She could say something about how Sydney and Sienna were fighting so much that being around them was just unbearable. Strangely, right now, the idea of the two being at odds seemed more bearable than this.
Before she spoke, she pulled away from Sienna and stood up, to demonstrate that she was done with this conversation. "The last time I used them? I don't know! It's been a while, okay?" That seemed like a good answer. "A while" was subjective enough that a couple of days could constitute as fitting its definition, just as much as a few months, right? Jane bit her bottom lip. Why was everything in her life soooo difficult? "Can we just forget it for tonight? It's not serious, I'm not lying, you guys are obviously friends again, and Piper's party is starting soon, so let's stop being mean to me for once, and go back downstairs." Ideally, Jane wanted that to sound like a demand, but it ended up being a plea more than anything else. She couldn't be in this spotlight anymore. She had said too much, and what she did say was probably going to cause more problems that she didn't want to get into right now. She didn't care if Sienna and Sydney got mad at Piper, but she didn't want to be involved in that. She wanted to be sipping a cranberry vodka at the bar when all of that went down.
Jane didn't get it.
It was enough to acknowledge that yes, she did use drugs (and Sienna had been banking on blanking out the part where Piper had a hand in this). Okay, they could deal with that. But not being able to admit that she was suffering from a disease and that she was perfectly fine? That wasn't acceptable in Sienna's book and she had let Sydney take free reign over the situation. Simply held Jane's hand still and stared at her friend imploringly, mind working overtime when her mouth could not. Which, during a funnier and less serious situation, would have been kinda hilarious. The girl who always had a comeback was relatively speechless?
That's a new one.
But the point was that Jane wasn't going to admit that she was still struggling with an eating disorder. As if the paleness of skin that normally looked just a bit tanner and healthier than it currently did wasn't enough. Or the fact that Jane was thinner than she had ever been in Sienna's eyes. The point was that Jane wasn't going to see that none of this was healthy and Sienna needed her to. She didn't want to lose her friend because Jane was being adamant that there was nothing wrong. Because there was - something serious at that. But she couldn't articulate it at that moment and she didn't fight it when Jane snatched away from her.
"J..." She murmured softly, looking up at the brunette after her whine. Because it wasn't her begging, it was a fucking whine and it tapped into something deep in Sienna that made it impossible for her to not acknowledge that pushing now would only result in Jane pulling even farther away than she already had. And that made her feel helpless even as she said, "Ok...ok, whatever you want, J." But Sienna's brain was still moving - still processing - and when she gave a tired roll of her neck, she managed to toss Sydney a pointed look. This conversation could be over if that was how Jane was going to be. Fine, Sienna could do that. There was a party happening, it would be ridiculous if the trio didn't show up to one of their girls' parties, and Sienna needed a Sangria. Or a Mai tai - was it possible to have both at the same damn time? More than that, they needed a new strategy and if distracting Jane with thoughts of the party was what needed to be done, then so be it.
"'Sides, I gotta see people off and then we need to head out. That - Pipe - already left," Sienna continued, having to stop herself from calling Piper a bitch. Because right now, if you helped the girl who has an eating disorder get drugs for weight loss when you yourself looks perfectly fine and unbothered, Sienna had an issue with you. She didn't wait for Sydney to try to continue the conversation, just hurried back to her vanity to check her phone and fix her hair back up. It wasn't finished and she wanted at least that done. It was something she could at least control. Jane's issues...that was an entirely different story.
To: Piper
Probs gonna be awesome <3 C u soon
To: Lottie
Done w/ dis convo up here. Def b down soon
To: Sydney
She's not gonna listen 2 anything we say. If we can't get her to stop trying to get drugs, we need 2 stop the drugs from getting to her. Go 2 the source
Sienna made sure to send that last text to Sydney discreetly before pulling her phone off the charge and paying attention to her hair. She wanted to enhance the voluminous look that already been added to her hair earlier and with a few pins to pin her locks back along with some olive oil sheen spray, she was done. Finished, Sienna turned back around, grabbing her mask, and smirked. "Let's just try to enjoy tonight. Drink some champagne downstairs, listen to music, and get ready to go. Limos should be coming soon, right?"
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View All » Add Character » 32 Characters to follow in this universe
Newest
Victoria Walsh
"I know things about you before you even know about them."
Edward Till
"One private school can't be that different from another, right?"
Ricardo Slim-Helú
"I'm not in the business of denying myself anything."
Carolina Daily
"I didn't become heartless. I became smarter."
Charlotte H. Buchanan
As long as we don't die, this is gonna be one hell of a story."
Brent Barclay
"I wouldn't have an attitude problem if you weren't so damn pesky."
Trending
Brent Barclay
"I wouldn't have an attitude problem if you weren't so damn pesky."
Charlotte H. Buchanan
As long as we don't die, this is gonna be one hell of a story."
Edward Till
"One private school can't be that different from another, right?"
Victoria Walsh
"I know things about you before you even know about them."
Carolina Daily
"I didn't become heartless. I became smarter."
Most Followed
Sydney Vale
"She's going to regret saying that about me."
Victoria Walsh
"I know things about you before you even know about them."
Charlotte H. Buchanan
As long as we don't die, this is gonna be one hell of a story."
Brent Barclay
"I wouldn't have an attitude problem if you weren't so damn pesky."
Edward Till
"One private school can't be that different from another, right?"
Carolina Daily
"I didn't become heartless. I became smarter."
Ricardo Slim-Helú
"I'm not in the business of denying myself anything."
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361 posts · 32 characters present · last post 2015-12-10 06:42:36 »
Manhattan, NY Owner: royals
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Upper East Side
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Upper East Side
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Upper East Side Relationships
by royals on Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:13 pm
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Upper East Side Relationships
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