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Sydney Vale

"She's going to regret saying that about me."

0 · 4,652 views · located in Manhattan, NY

a character in “Upper East Side”, as played by StarStruck

Description

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Full Name:
Sydney Victoria Vale

Nickname:
Syd {friends}

Birthday:
08/28/1997

Age:
17

Sexual Orientation:
Heterosexual

Grade Level:
12

Hometown:
New York, NY {0-17}

Character Role:
The Queen Bee



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Grandfather:
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Alan Vale {Age 72}
Alan has been Sydney's primary caregiver since she was born seventeen years ago. After his daughter, Alice, became pregnant after a one-night stand, he pledged that he would raise his unborn granddaughter better than he had his own daughter. At the time of her birth, Alan was married to his second wife, Kathy, and the pair raised Sydney in their Manhattan home as Alice gallivanted around the globe. Kathy passed away of a sudden heart attack when Sydney was only four, so Alan is the person that she has the strongest emotional connection with in her family. Alan is the breadwinner of the family, thanks to creating and producing Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show.

Mother:
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Alice Vale {Age 40}
Alice may be Sydney's mother biologically, but she never stepped up to the role emotionally. She was and is too focused on her life as a socialite to commit to raising a child. As it has been for the past seventeen years, Alice stops by to visit Sydney sporadically a few times every month, mostly in between trips to Europe and the Caribbean, and occasionally to flaunt her daughter at parties in New York. Sydney has grown to secretly resent her mother and is finding it harder and harder to tolerate her absentee parenting style.

Father:
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Bryan Foley {Age 42}
Sydney has never met her father and knows nothing about him. Her mother met him when they were both young kids at a bar in Boston and their one night stand never went beyond that. He is now a high school principal in a Massachusetts suburb but has no idea that he has a daughter either, so any relationship between them seems impossible.


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Home Life:
As soon as she was born, Sydney became a cherished member of the Vale family, although her arrival wasn't planned or desired in the beginning. Her mother, Alice, was the only child of Alan Vale and the late Cindy Vale, a well-known couple in the entertainment industry. Unfortunately, Alice didn't do well in the spotlight and the endless amounts of money that she possessed led her down the wrong path. She knew that she would never have to work a day in her life and rather than invest her time in education or philanthropy, she threw everything she had into the party lifestyle. Cindy's scandalous affair turned divorce only made Alice act out more. Her reckless lifestyle didn't end when her teenage years did, but she manipulated her image into one of a socialite. Her parents' money supported her habits but they soon gone too out of hand for even them to approve of. Alice was drinking too much and testing her fate with drugs. She was lucky that the worst thing that happened to her was getting knocked up one night and finding out that she was pregnant with Sydney two months later.

Sydney's birth reconnected Alice with her father and his second wife, Kathy, but only so they could keep Sydney safe with them. The pair raised their granddaughter for four years, before Kathy passed away and Alan was forced to become the main caregiver to the toddler. He was the one to make her breakfast every morning, to bring her to church on Sundays, to watch her in her dance recitals and to tuck them into bed at night. Alan became her grandfather, mother and father in one. He went above and beyond his duties of a grandfather and although he did a great job as essentially being a single parent, she did miss out on having a maternal figure in her life. Her mother would come around a few times a month but all of her promises were empty. She never showed up for the first day of school or taught her how to ice skate. She wasn't there to talk to her about boys or how mean girls could be and it hurt Sydney when she became old enough to realize the absence. No matter what she did and how perfect she was, she was never good enough to keep her mother's interest. So, she garnered that desire for attention and perfection into her social life. Sydney climbed to the top of the social ladder and has no plans of letting go. At the top, she has control, power and adoration that she never got in her family life. Here, no one can hurt or abandon her because she's the one cutting people down.

Academic Career:
Sydney has always done well in school. Not only does she strive to maintain a perfect social image, but she also works hard to keep a 4.0 average. She's not extremely intelligent but has various private tutors who make sure she stays on top of her game, and when that doesn't work, she's never afraid to cheat on a test. She's captain of the lacrosse team and a member of the French club.

Future Plans:
Sydney dreams of attending Brown University, her grandfather's alma mater. She doesn't know what she wants to major in, but imagines that it will have something to do with business or behind the scenes entertainment, so she can follow in her grandfather's legacy.


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Personality:
Sydney has always been confident in herself and it's probably a major reason for why she has done so well socially. She isn't afraid to speak her mind and has no problem with public speaking, confrontations or expressing her dislike for someone or something. While she has a reputation of being a bitch, she is protective of her friends and stand by them as long as they're loyal to her. Part of this stems from the fact that she doesn't want people to bash the people she hangs out with, since she believes in the "you're judged by the company you keep" saying. However, she also truly loves her close friends and would never let anyone speak poorly of them if she can help it. The key word there is "close friends" though. Growing up in The Upper East Side, Sydney knows that it's hard to find true, genuine friends who can be trusted with everything. There are tons of social climbers, opportunists, back stabbers and fakes among the bunches of girls who attend prep schools and even though Sydney is at the top of the social charts right now, she is still somewhat cautious around some of the girls around her.

Becoming a Queen Bee hasn't been easy and Sydney has been involved in her fair share of cat fights. She says that she's too classy to ever physically fight a girl but that doesn't mean that her claws don't come out when someone insults her. Her calm and collected front seems to disappear when she's pissed off and she's known to insult people below the belt. It's not uncommon for her to start vicious rumors about girls and even guys. Even if someone only wrongs her slightly, if it gets back to Sydney when she's already in a bad mood, she'll do everything in her power to ruin that person's social reputation. Although her position at the top does give her a lot of power, it has also caused her to be somewhat paranoid. When everyone knows your name, there's always someone talking about you and Sydney always fears that someone's going to spread something about her that will cause her to lose all of her friends. With this in mind, Sydney's actions always seem to be calculated. Whether it's something as simple as inviting a weird kid to one of her parties or purposely talking to someone else's boyfriend, her actions usually serve a bigger purpose.

There are really three sides to Sydney. To the few people who she truly trusts, she's one of the best friends that they could have. She'll fight for them, support them and willingly give them advice whenever needed. The majority of people fall into her middle group of relationships. She's not best friends with them but maintains a fake, overly nice demeanor towards them until she knows whether she can trust them or not. Lastly, with those who have done her wrong, Sydney will get her revenge and then pretend that they don't exist. She'll confront them about the problem, seek social revenge and then never acknowledge them again. She's not the type of person who can trust someone who has betrayed her and rarely gives people second chances, so it's easier for her to completely ignore people who she has decided are no longer worth her time.

Hobbies:
Lacrosse ✿ Shopping ✿ New York nightlife ✿ Travelling

Bad Habits:
Judging people ✄ Spreading rumors ✄ Disregarding other people's feelings ✄ Seeking vengeance

Likes:
Hot chocolate ❤ Disney World ❤ Fashion ❤ Travelling ❤ London ❤ Her grandfather ❤ Money ❤ Netflix ❤ Friends ❤ The Hamptons ❤ Shopping ❤ Black tie events ❤ Her friends ❤ Constance Billard ❤ Brown University ❤ Paris ❤ White chocolate ❤ Baking ❤ Lemonade ❤ Margaritas ❤ Vanilla scent ❤ Pearl necklaces ❤ Lilly Pulitzer ❤ Shake Shack ❤ SoHo

Dislikes:
Spray tans ✘ Pigeons ✘ Subways ✘ Cigarettes ✘ Power outages ✘ Traffic ✘ Guidos ✘ Clingy guys ✘ Gaining weight ✘ Fast food unless she's drunk ✘ Watching sports on TV ✘ Horses ✘ Protests ✘ Beggars ✘ Being dismissed ✘ Iggy Azalea ✘ Milk ✘ The Midwest ✘ Orange juice with pulp ✘ Black coffee ✘ Valentine's Day


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Face Claim:
Vanessa Ray

Height:
5'4

Weight/Build:
Weight: 110 lbs
Sydney is fairly happy with her body. She's thin and has enough cleavage to give her curves, especially when she wears a bombshell bra. Sydney was never into sports as a child but does go jogging in the park or on a treadmill to maintain her weight. She sometimes wishes that she were a few inches taller but overall, she is okay with her form.

Hair Color:
Blonde

Eye Color:
Blue

Other:
Her earlobes are pierced twice each. She has no tattoos but is considering getting a small heart tattoo on the inside of her middle finger.

So begins...

Sydney Vale's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Charlotte H. Buchanan Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine
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#, as written by royals
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It's Thursday, September 4th, and for the students of Constance Billard School for Girls and Saint Jude's School for Boys, that means that school is back in session. Both schools are located only a couple of blocks away from each other in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the neighborhood where most of the students reside in.

Although today is the first day of the school year, academic classes are not in session until tomorrow. Today is the day of the "welcome assembly", where the upperclassmen of both schools will come to Constance Billard from 9:30 to 11:30, and the underclassmen from 11:30 to 1:30. The short day will allow the Head of School to welcome the students back, and address any changes that have occurred over the summer. Students will also have an opportunity to socialize with their friends and possibly new classmates, and introduce themselves to their teachers for the year. Textbooks will also be available for pickup.

Later that night, Sydney Vale will be hosting her annual back-to-school party at her home. This year's theme is black & white, but even dressing in one of the colors won't guarantee that you'll get in if you didn't receive one of the exclusive invitations this summer.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Sydney Vale
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{ Outfit || Hair || Bedroom }

The first day of school was always a big deal. Even this year, when she was a senior and had no one to prove herself to, Sydney still knew that the way today went was going to determine how her year went and with this being senior year, she vowed that it would go perfectly. With the way her social circle seemed to run, it probably wouldn't end up being as flawless as she wished, but she would definitely make it look perfect to the rest of the world. That was how Sydney Vale worked. No matter how chaotic her life really was, she never flinched. She had an image to maintain and if she ever even hinted that she wasn't as in control of her world as she acted, her power would be gone. She felt that way, at least.

Unlike many of her friends, Sydney didn't have tens of housekeepers rushing around her grandfather's penthouse. They had a team of maids who came in twice a week to clean, and besides that they only kept one housekeeper and one chef on staff on a daily basis. On days like today, when both her grandfather and mother weren't home, it forced to their large home to feel sort of empty, but Sydney almost preferred it that way. She was an independent girl.

Today she was ahead of schedule. She had risen at six in the morning to ensure she would have an ample amount of time to get ready. It wasn't really necessary, since she had finished showering and blow drying her hair by seven-thirty, had finished breakfast and doing her makeup by eight, and was ready to walk out the door by eight-thirty. Although she didn't want to be late, she didn't want to be early either, and with Constance Billard being only two blocks away, she definitely would have been if she had left then. Instead, she returned to her bedroom and called Sienna. Compared to the past few years, it might have been unusual, but after Jane abandoned the pair this summer, Sydney had felt more connected to Sienna. Granted, it didn't stop her from sleeping with Vincent again on the fourth of July, but at least this time she felt bad about it. Besides, she wanted to rant about Jane, so obviously she couldn't call her.

It took a few rings before Sienna answered. Sydney had put her phone on her dresser on speaker mode as she touched up her makeup. As soon as she heard Sienna's "hello?" she went into rant mode.

"Is this girl kidding me?! I can't believe her. Really? She thinks she can disappear for almost three months and then pick back up with a selfie and a text as if nothing happened?!" There was no 'how are you?', 'are you sad your tour is over', or 'are you excited for school?'. No, Sydney was pissed off. Jane had abandoned their friend group all summer and then last night had announced her return with a post to Instagram and a text in their group chat asking which teacher's they had on their schedule this year. There was no explanation for her disappearance, no apology, and to make matters worse, she hadn't even sent Sydney a private text. It was just the one in their group chat with Sienna, and worst of all, Piper. "Does she not realize that she missed my Fourth of July party, my birthday party and my white party? Not to mention the weekend in Europe that the three of us always do. She nearly tore our friend group apart, Sia, and I guarantee you that this is as much of an explanation as she thinks I'm giving us." It was more than selfish for Sydney to turn herself into the victim in all of this. It wasn't like Jane had disappeared to travel the world. She had been put into a rehabilitation facility for an apparently-serious eating disorder. The knowledge of her best friend being ill and obviously desperate enough to keep it that way by hiding it for so long didn't change the fact that Sydney was more than offended. Jane had been her best friend forever, and she suddenly found it appropriate to keep secrets from her. Sydney couldn't fathom it and she had struggled to hide her shock and upset about it ever since Sienna called her about it in June. "Well, I'm sure Piper had something to do with this. You know how she's always flaunting how much of a 'model' she is. She probably told Jane she didn't have the right body for modeling. As if," she scoffed. No matter how real Piper's modeling career actually was, Sydney was never going to stop downplaying it. The fact that Jane seemed to get even closer with the redhead during junior year had only increased Sydney's hatred for her, though it probably wasn't obvious to anyone outside of the friend group.

Sienna responded in a more realistic manner, but the sound of shuffling and then New York traffic in the background reminded her that Sienna wasn't alone. Apparently, the group that Sienna had toured with was attending Constance this year and had slept over. Remembering that the girl was probably present, Sydney decided that she would save the rest of their discussion for later. As Sienna had said, they weren't going to be able to do anything until they had Jane alone anyway. There was no way that she was going to fess up in front of people when she didn't even have the guts to say it to Sydney alone.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. We'll see how it goes, I guess, but I'm not answering that text. What does she expect us to say to her?! Ugh, okay. Meet me at our usual spot on the steps at nine on the dot. Don't be late!" The last two sentences came out in a more cheerful tone, but Sydney was still annoyed. After her phone call, she decided to leave regardless of it being early. Maybe Starbucks would help her feel better.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Charlotte H. Buchanan Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine
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Like her fellow socialite and longtime friend, Sienna had awoken at around six in the morning. Well, to be completely honest, Sienna had been awake since around five, but chose not to get out of bed until six. The act of doing so felt too strenuous of a task and the darkness outside wasn't exactly helping in the Sienna-needs-to-get-up decision. Nevertheless, when the time came, Sienna's hand pressed the button of her alarm clock just before it went off, glancing over at a still sleeping Hailey. Expelling a heavy sigh and running a hand through her thick hair, she sat up, did a small overhead stretch, and then headed downstairs. Just as she was about to leave her bedroom, Sienna grabbed her phone. The alarm she had set was only on snooze and would wake Hailey up soon enough. Either that or Sienna would come back and jump on her fellow singer.

In the long hallway, the delicious aroma of cooked meat and something sweet and bready wafted to her nostrils and upon turning the corner past her sister's bedroom, Sienna was surprised to see her mother, Cynthia, awake and actually...cooking? "Channeling Betty Crocker this morning, mamá?" She called with a small grin and her mother jumped just a bit, body tense as the last pancake plopped down on the plate that was stacked with them unceremoniously. Cynthia exhaled sharply while Sienna only chuckled. "Sienna, casi me dio un ataque al corazón! Avisarme próxima vez!" Her mother chastised and while Sienna had to roll her eyes at how dramatic her mother was being, she only smiled and sat at the breakfast isle, marveling at the selection of food her mother decided to provide. She could see breakfast empanadas, which would be the first thing Sienna would be eating, pancakes, both bacon and sausage, a bowl of fruit salad, and scrambled eggs. "Lo siento, mamá." She apologized, though the sparkle in her honey brown eyes was far from apologetic. "What's all this for though?" Cynthia only smiled slightly, causing the dimples in her cheeks to appear. "I don't know, it's just Esmee's first day of high school and the first day of your last year..." Sienna listened to her mother trail off as she politely grabbed a warm breakfast empanada and a plate, reaching over afterwards to scoop out some fruit when she saw the look on her mother's face. "Por favor, mama. Please don't start getting all emotional!" Sienna exclaimed to which Cynthia replied that she couldn't help it, prompting Sienna to roll her eyes and take a bite out of her empanada.

"Don't act surprised, Sia. She's been looking at baby pictures all morning," her little sister, Esmee, called from behind her and Sienna deadpanned. Cynthia sighed. "You kids will understand when you have kids of your own and they start growing up." She told them while fixing her own plate of food. Sienna only chuckled and decided to type out quick texts.

To: Piper, Jane, Charlotte, August, Connor, Dustin, Isabela
Morning, lovelies! Can't wait to see everyone! <3 <3

To: Vincent
Graduation's not even here yet & my mom's looking at baby pics. Help!!!

It wasn't a common occurrence, her texting Vincent. Not unless he was having one of his drunk texting episodes or if they were all in some mass text message. The shock of having been the one to initiate the contact didn't come in until after her phone alerted her to the fact that it had been sent but by then it was too late to call the message back. Besides, they were supposed to be civil. They hung out in the same circles and while, yes, his presence and name made something in her chest throb every single time, not communicating wasn't doing anyone any favors. Not when some of his friends were her friends and vice versa. Besides, if her mom was looking at baby pictures or getting sentimental, she wouldn't be surprised if his were to. Shaking her head a little, Sienna put another empanada on her plate before fixing one for Hailey. Considering the late nights they spent on tour and the long rides on tour buses (no matter how luxurious they were) still made it difficult for normal human beings to want to get up. And well, Sienna was normal, but she was an early bird whether she wanted to be or not. It was in her blood. "Don't forget to give me back my sweater, Esmee. I know you took it while I was gone." Her sister made a face at Sienna's exclamation, but Sia didn't look back. She had to eat and get ready for school.

Once back in her bedroom, Sienna set Hailey's plate on the nightstand on her side of Sienna's bed. While they had the spare bedrooms for her friend to choose from, they had both collapsed on her bed after joking around and talking about the upcoming school year. After giving her friend a hard shake, Sienna noisily (and only to keep Hailey awake) clamored to her walk-in-closet, the only other one in the penthouse besides the one in her parents' bedroom, so that she could find a decent outfit to wear for the first day back. While munching on the empanadas and melon, Sienna found a nice sapphire blue wrap blouse that had long sleeves, a black-and-white split slit skirt, and strappy Giuseppe Zanotti wedges to wear. While it was September and the air was chilled as compared to the warmth Sienna had grown accustomed to on the West Coast, it wasn't cold enough for her to require wearing tights yet and she could always bring along a chic black jacket just in case. Satisfied with her choice and finished with her food, she pulled out two bottles of water from the miniature fridge in her closet along with her clothes and stepped out, closing the door behind her.

Brushing her teeth and going through her Bellaboo skincare treatment took her about fifteen minutes and it was about seven thirty when she hopped into the shower. She had just gotten out of the steaming bathroom, her soft skin wrapped in a delicate jasmine vanilla scent, when she realized that her phone was ringing. It didn't surprise her that it was Sydney and after their conversation was done with a promise of Sienna being on the Constance steps at nine promptly, the two girls ended the conversation. Despite what Sydney might actually believe or what even Vincent might think, Sienna didn't hate Sydney. She was irritated with her from time to time and yes, she was very close to hitting her friend on a number of occasions. But more than anything, she wanted their friendship to actually work and be genuine, and was more disappointed with Sydney than anything else. She had wanted Syd to be the one to tell her about sleeping with Vince, though his honesty was definitely accepted. However, their conversation had nothing to do with their own situation. It was about Jane who had Sienna frustrated all summer, very much like Sydney. Her being a bit tired and not exactly in need of school at the moment had her sounding a bit more realistic and mellow than normal, but she felt Sydney's anger and hurt. It just wouldn't get to her until a bit later.

It didn't take her long to get ready after that and Sienna was in the middle of brushing her hair when she glanced back at Hailey, who was getting ready swiftly. "How do you feel about your first day? Ready to wreak some havoc on these New Yorkers?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine
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Today's Look || Bedroom

To say that Jane wasn't ready for school was an understatement. She was rarely prepared for school on normal days, never on the first day back, and absolutely not on this year's first day of the twelfth grade. In fact, today she was ready for her summer to start. She had spent the last three months in an Illinois treatment facility for an eating disorder that she still claims she doesn't have. Although it was a nice facility, one that had housed celebrities like Demi Lovato and Kesha, it wasn't a place that anyone would want to live in. Jane was no different. Her time there was emotionally strenuous and even if she had been able to acknowledge that she had a problem, as soon as she was released two days ago, she did her best to erase those few months from her mind.

It started the night that she was set free, when she stumbled into Sienna's friend Hailey at the airport. With Jane's amazing luck, the girl happened to be taking the same first-class flight from Chicago to New York with her and must have recognized her from one of the many pictures she and Sienna had together on social media. In her credit, she was more than friendly, but Jane was in the opposite of the mood to socialize and needed to clear her track from Chicago period, so she brushed Hailey off and pretended like she didn't know who she was talking about. The following day was her one day of summer, and after a long and comfortable sleep in her thoroughly missed New York apartment, she agreed to go with her father and stepmother to their Hamptons home for the day. It was supposed to be a day of bonding, but as made apparent by the backdrop of the selfie she sent to Piper, Sienna and Sydney, she spent most of the afternoon seated by the bar of their local country club. After three months of hell, one drink... or five, seemed well deserved. The message was accompanied by a simple screenshot of her senior schedule asking if any of the girls had any classes with her. She had received responses from Sienna and Piper, but nothing came from Sydney's end. Not even a 'like' on the picture she had posted on Instagram later that night after a few hours at spa. Jane knew better than to assume that she could act like nothing had happened after going MIA for three months. Something like that wouldn't have been acceptable in a low-level social group, nonetheless the exclusively tight group that she ran in. The girls seemed to tell each other about everything, and even though Sydney wasn't always completely honest with Jane, she thought she was, and that did make her feel guilty. Maybe a mixture of guilt and fear, actually. Even as Sydney's best friend, Jane wasn't exempt from her wrath, and the cold shoulder that Sydney was giving her hinted that her friend was not happy.

Nicole's acting career seemed to have sank even further than before Jane went away, since in the two days that Jane had been home, she didn't seem to have any scripts to memorize, any phone calls with agents to take, and definitely no sets to be present on. The reminder of how annoying her stepmother was wasn't strong enough to make her want to return to Chicago, but definitely made her want to go somewhere far away. It didn't help that this morning, it was her voice who pulled Jane out of her deep sleep.

"Jane, honey, it's eight thirty. Maria has been trying to wake you up since six," Jane was able to ignore her voice, and apparently had slept through the house staff's attempts to wake her. When Nicole gently nudged her in the side, she quickly shifted away and dramatically pulled a pillow over her head. "You have to be at school in an hour Jane, it's time to wake up," she tried again, this time pulling the white bedspread off of her curled up body. The cool air rushed over her scantily clad body and forced her to wake up. "Don't you remember that I moved down the hall to be farther away from you?" she snapped as she sat herself up, but not before pulling the blanket back from Nicole. When Nicole had first moved in, Jane had thrown a fit and in an attempt to make her point clear, had moved all of her things to a guest bedroom on the opposite side of the penthouse. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything to sway her father's mind and left her in a much smaller room, too lazy to move everything back and with house staff under orders not to help her do so. At this point, Nicole was unfazed by Jane's attitude and chuckled in an equally sassy manner at the recollection. "I'm sure that everyone in the building remembers it, darling. Now get out of bed so I don't have to call Daddy while he's working." Her tone had switched from being a forced-caring one to the sardonic sound that Jane remembered. The way that she mockingly referred to her much-older husband as "daddy", even if to just refer to him in Jane's term, made Jane feel sick. The girls matched each other's glares for a good ten seconds before Jane relented and got out of bed. It was enough to make Nicole leave, but not without a sneer.

Even if she had been reminded that she was running late before, it only hit her when she glanced down at her phone and found that it was nearing 8:45 AM. She usually met Sienna, Piper and Sydney at nine, and that seemed extremely unlikely today. Running late was something that Jane was known for though, so if anything, it was one thing that she hoped the girls would understand. Just in case, she decided to respond to Sienna's text to let them her. She hadn't seemed mad at her and she and Sienna almost always were on good terms. Even when Jane's lips were too loose for her own good, and Sienna's, the singer never stayed annoyed at her for too long.

To: Sia
Can't wait to see my main bitch ;D!! Running a litttttle late but I'll be there

To: Piper
PIPE! I missed you!! I'll pick you up omw to school so we can catch up!! You're on Park Ave now right?

It probably should have struck Jane as being off long ago when she had never been invited to Piper's house. She never thought much of it though, and took the lies about house renovations and other obstacles as being completely valid. Why would someone lie about that? Piper looked rich. Piper acted rich. Jane was never intuitive enough to think too far into something like that, and honestly, she was used to be exceptionally wealthier than most of her peers anyway.

With little time in her schedule, Jane decided not to shower again. She had done so the night before and she would have to suffer the consequences of simply air-drying her hair by throwing it up into a messy ponytail. Her outfit consisted of Balenciaga leather leggings, a denim key-holed back shirt, Saint Laurent ankle boots and a Givenchy Lucrezia bag. It was nearing nine o'clock when she arrived in the kitchen. Their chef hovered over the stove, cooking what smelled like buttermilk pancakes. It made Jane's mouth water but she knew better. She wasn't going to start off the year with something that she imagined had enough calories to last her a week. If the chef had been the only one in the kitchen, it would have been easy for Jane to shimmy past and to the elevator to escape without much notice. Again, her luck was running short. Nicole was seated on a bar stool next to the counter sporting an amused smile that Jane was half a second away from slapping off her face. Jane was already imagining her annoying voice saying, Janie, come sit. Breakfast is almost ready. but she was surprised when instead, she tossed her a brown paper bag. "Max is waiting outside with the car. Eat on your way." They both knew the bag would end up in the trash bin outside, but Jane was at least grateful that Nicole didn't press the subject and allowed her to speed into the elevator shaft without another word.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Charlotte H. Buchanan Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Connor Harkins Character Portrait: Isabela Monroe
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#, as written by Secute
Piper Vine
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{Outfit|Yoga Music}


Summer break was everything Piper wanted it to be. She got to hang out with friends, shop, and even had a couple of modeling gigs. Of course that means she got paid for each job, which only increased her shopping. It was an all-around easy summer for her. Though there was one situation in particular that was less than pleasant. One day she was with Brent, when Jane came over to his place looking for some drugs. Piper was practically speechless when she saw the heiress arrive. Brent's place was the dead last place on earth Piper expected to see Jane pop up at. Nonetheless, one thing lead to another and Piper had to lie about why she was there as well. Of course she said it was for the same reason that Jane was there for. To have some drugs to help maintain her weight. Piper felt a little guilty about lying to Jane, but it was something that had to be done. It wasn't long after that incident that Piper learned that Jane was going to a rehabilitation center and spent a lot of the summer there as well. Did Piper tell Sienna or Sydney what she saw? Nope. It wasn't her business to tell.

Well there is one more event that occurred over the summer worth mentioning. Piper did come close to finding her biological family. She can practically taste victory by now. It was an extensive search, but she did find a last name of Vine belonging to an elderly couple in Vancouver, Canada. Piper called the number to the elderly couple's home and asked if they had any grandchildren that were given up for adoption. The answer? Yes, they had two grandchildren that were given up for adoption. When Piper gave them her full name, it was the grandfather who was first to hang up the phone. Piper called them back for hours because she had a hunch that she was on to something major. But it was as if after that phone call, all evidence of that elderly couple disappeared. All online information was gone. So this was a huge set back, but Piper plans on spending this school year getting to the bottom of this mystery.

A couple of days ago Piper and Dustin decided to go to Jones Beach. Sort of a last minute hooray before their last year of high school begun. Since Dustin is the only person to know the real Piper, so a vacation with him wasn't a problem whatsoever. She could really just be herself, which was something she needed before she had to start the 'I'm Piper Vine, and my family is super rich' show. Honestly she's happy this is the last year of high school, because she plans on dropping this whole charade once she got to college.

Piper and Dustin got back pretty late last night, so instead of having to travel across town, Piper just spent the night at Dustin's house. There is a mark difference between her apartment and Dustin's place, so she wasn't going to complain about a night of luxury without having to hear all of the traffic and the noisy neighbors who like to have sex at 3 in the morning. Dealing with Dustin's two younger siblings wasn't a problem either.

The sound of an alarm went off waking the red head from her beauty sleep. Piper nearly fell off of the bed because she was so startled by the sudden loud noise. She removed her sleep mask to look at the time, 5AM. "Time to start my morning routine." Piper stretched her arms above her head and rolled out of the bed. She stayed in the guest room, so she had her own bathroom and everything. Piper opened the blinds, and it was still dark out, but the dim lighting was relaxing. She put her headphones on and listened to her yoga music. It was something she started to do two years ago, when she learned that doing yoga exercises as soon as you wake up help keep you youthful. Needless to say she quickly integrated yoga into her daily routine. After a half hour, she got into the shower and washed herself from head to toe.

"Phase one done." Piper smiled at her reflection in the mirror and went on to wash her face. Going into her suitcase, she pulled out her toothbrush as well as her planner. 'Welcome assembly at 9:30AM, and Sydney's party later. Ugh Sydney. If it wasn't for the others I wouldn't even go to her party.' Piper thought as she finished up brushing her teeth. "Phase two down."Piper next started doing her hair. For today she decided to do curls since it was the only day where she could wear what she wanted. It took some time to blow dry her hair and everything, but she eventually got it done. "Phase three complete as well." Piper sung. Piper pulled out her make-up bag and pulled out an array of expensive foundations, blushes, brushes, concealer, and other necessities. She started the long ritual of applying all of her make-up. To her it was truly an art to be admired.

"Now for the finisher." The red head pulled out multiple outfits and tried to decide which one was the best. Just as she was going to pick an outfit, she heard her phone vibrate. After a quick glance she saw it was a message from one of her many of group chats.

To: Sienna, Jane, Charlotte, August, Connor, Dustin, Isabela
Morning! Hope everyone's ready for this school year!

Tossing her phone, Piper went back to finally get dressed. She decided to show off her figure that she has been working on, so a crop top and skirt were the best choices for her. "Looking good today Ms. Piper Vine." She looked at herself in the mirror and approved whole heartedly of today's look. Walking out of the bedroom with her pink bag, Piper moaned as she saw the time and that she had a text from Jane. She was going to ride with Dustin, but seeing as she hasn't seen Jane in so long she might as well ride to school with her.

To: Jane
Sure darling, you won't be able to miss me on the side of the road. I'll be the only attractive red head in heels!

Piper smiled at her own reply, before walking to Dustin's door and knocking loudly. "You better make it to morning assembly! I'm leaving now to go meet Jane." Just as she was walking away from the door she remembered her luggage. "And I'll get my stuff this afternoon." There was no way she would be able to explain to Jane why no one from her family got her luggage for her, so it was best to just eliminate the potential problem. Piper practically skipped out of the home and headed to Park Avenue so Jane could come and get her. She was curious to how the girl was doing, so having some alone time for just the two of them was best.

While she was standing there, Piper decided to remind Connor that they had the school assembly today. Figuring it was her duty or something.

To: Connor
I better see you today! I feel like we haven't talked in ages! How are you?! Was your summer good?!

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Charlotte H. Buchanan Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine
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The shrill tone of his alarm clock abruptly pulled Connor out of his sleep. He was unadmittedly always a little jumpy, but the sound of that alarm after a summer without it definitely shocked him. He was quick to slam his fist on the snooze button, but even if he had time to go to back sleep, his heart was racing too quickly for him to manage that. It was already almost eight o'clock but for Connor, that was right on schedule. All he needed to do was shower, get dressed and walk out the door, so waking up before the sun had even risen was an unnecessary burden for him, even if some of his classmates felt it necessary.

As expected, he was walking out the door by eight-thirty. Both of his parents were already gone: his father probably headed downtown to work and his mother at the gym playing tennis with her friends. His penthouse was empty, but not in the somber way that some of his friends' were. Connor's parents were married and happy, his family healthy, and there was little to complain about in the Harkins household.

It might not have been the mainstream reaction to the first day of school, but Connor was actually fairly excited to be back. He loved summer just as much as anyone else. This past one had mostly been spent in the Nantucket where his family summers. His brother was home for most of the season so they spent time together there and in LA, where Connor met many of Jack's friends. They had met up with Sydney briefly while over there. She was in town with her grandfather and mother to attend the Emmy Awards and managed to get him and Jack into one of the more exclusive after parties. It would have been an amazing night had Connor not had to deal with his brother and her making out right next to him on the limo ride home. No matter how many times he had seen the two getting intimate, it always felt like someone had punched him in the gut when he saw it. Sydney knew he liked her. Everyone in the Upper East Side probably knew that by now, but she always told him that she just liked him as a friend. Although her words stated that, her actions always felt a little different. Maybe Connor was just being too wishful, but he was throwing all of his hope into the tiny little signs that suggested that maybe, just maybe, she saw him as something more.

When he was nearing Constance Billard and his phone's ring was matched with her name, his heart jumped. He answered almost instantly.

"Hello?"

"Hey Con, where are you?"

"Like a block away from your school. Are you there already?" He doubted she would be. Sydney was always on time, never too early and never too late.

"No, it's too early... I'm kind of in the mood for Starbucks." The way that she ended the sentence suggested that she was stating more than just a craving, but she didn't need to ask him to get it for her. He was going to offer without that.

"I'll pick it up!" He responded almost as soon as she finished speaking. At this point, there was no use in trying to hide how eager he was to please Sydney, and not only because he had a crush on her. She was one of his best friends, or at least oldest friends.

"Aw, thanks babe. A vanilla iced coffee would be perf! 9 AM on the steps!"

"Okay, see y-" She had hung up before he could finish his goodbyes.

Their conversation had put him into a better mood, so much so that he had no reservations with about-facing to get back to the Starbucks that he had passed a few blocks away. It was crowded with morning commuters but he took the time to send out a few texts.

To: Sienna
Can't wait to see u either! Still upset I didn't get to see u on tour this summer :(

To: Piper
I'll be there in 15! I'm rly good! How are you? Spend the summer in Nantucket so I was pretty MIA in the city. What did u do?

To: Sienna, Piper, Jane, Charlotte, Vincent, Kelley
@ Starbucks. Anyone want anything :)?

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Connor Harkins Character Portrait: Oliver Grace Character Portrait: Kelley Hadley
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{ Outfit }

Despite often being the butt of jokes for doting on his appearance, it didn't take Vincent more than a half an hour to get ready in the morning. With it being the first day of school, he gave himself a few extra minutes to adjust to waking up early by rising at seven-fifteen. His cousin, Kelley Hadley, was sleeping in the spare room of his apartment and after pulling himself out of bed, he rapped his fist against her door. "Rise and shine, Barbie." Although he doubted that would be enough to get her out of bed, he didn't open the door or pester her any further and left to take a shower. He hadn't heard her come in the previous night and was sure that she had only gotten in bed two or three hours ago. Kelley's partying habits were questionable, even to someone like Vincent who went out frequently too. In the very least, they had forced her into the role of the problem child of the family.

The end of a steamy shower led to him getting dressed in a plain white v-neck shirt, coral pants and Gucci loafers. It was a striking comparison to the outfits of many seventeen year old boys, but Vincent wouldn't be caught dead wearing some ratty t-shirt and basketball shorts to the first day of school. If he had the money to dress nicely, regardless of it sometimes being a bit over the top, he was going to do it.

The number of notifications his phone had when he finished getting ready didn't help his already inflated ego, but when he realized that twelve of them were from his mother, it shrank back down a notch. It only took him listening to one of her voice mails to know what the other two, and nine texts entailed. She sounded to be on the brink of tears, going on and on about how she was so excited that he was finally a senior and how she should have slept over in the city last night so she could be there for him this morning. She reminded him to eat a wholesome breakfast, lock his door on the way out, send his uniform to the dry cleaner's and even to brush his teeth. Her text messages contained a slew of "inspirational quotes" and baby photos of his first days of school throughout the years. While they elicited an eye roll from him, he did send her a text in response. His mother was the sweetest woman that he (and most people) had ever met, and her overly sentimental and emotional ways were to be expected on a day like this.

To: Mom
Lol Don't freak out. You've still got Mia! Wish her a happy first day of 4th grade for me. I'll let you know how my day goes later.

She responded immediately, thankfully ignoring him brushing off Charlie's existence, confirming that she'd pass along the message and reminding him that she was going to come into the city one night for dinner. The other texts that were from friends he answered in a quicker manner, although he was surprised to see one from Sienna. Their relationship was rocky to say the least, but he was happy to act friendly to her if she was open to it. Avoiding her altogether, unless he was drunk, made things easier, since it was hard to be around her when he couldn't be with her, but he guessed that it was time to move on by now. Though, that would probably change the second he saw her in person.

To: Sienna
Lmao our moms are the same people

To: Connor
Nah I'm good

To: Oliver
Ready for senior year man?

To: Sydney
You've got Connor doing coffee runs already? It's only day 1 Syd.

Since there were no real classes today and he had already picked up his textbooks, he only took his phone and keys with him. The door to the spare room was still sealed shut, so he knocked on it loudly once more. "For the record, I tried to wake you up twice so I'm gonna act like you were ignoring me when your mom calls and tries to blame you missing the first day on me," he said through the door, in a tone that was a poor attempt at being serious. There was no response, not even a snarky remark, hollered back at him, so he assumed that she really was asleep. It wasn't his job to wake her up and he doubted that the girl would be in any state to go to school even if she was awake, so with a shrug, he left his apartment.

Constance Billard was about a fifteen minute walk from his building but with the nice weather, it felt even shorter. He waited in the front area of the courtyard, his eyes scanning the growing crowds of students for any signs of his friends.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine Character Portrait: Hailey Neilson
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Sienna didn't care to do much to her hair for the day considering they were all going to be getting dolled up Sydney's party tonight, so she decided to simply run a brush through the silky locks. There were subtle waves already towards the ends from the last hair appointment she had went to for a touch-up of the honey blonde shade, so she was content with the natural elegance that could be seen in her hair. She did, however, choose to part it down the center so that there could be equal love of hair on both sides of her face. It also would help when she decided to flip her hair all dramatically or something along those lines, but Hailey's response had her smiling at her friend through her mirror. "You're awesome, you look awesome, everyone is going to see that you're awesome, and you're gonna rock this first day." She grinned at her friend before turning her attention to applying a small amount of makeup. She didn't need anything too heavy for the first day, not when later would prompt her entire face being done up. However, she did go with a luscious pink lip with her cake-batter flavored lip balm coated just beneath for protection.

Once she found she was situated and with an extra fluff of her hair, Sienna rose from the chair in front of her vanity. The new height allowed her to see the way the skirt showed off her toned and tanned legs and she made sure that the shirt was still tucked into the skirt, though fitting loosely. While Sienna had her casual moments and would gladly wear things like sweatpants as a regular requirement in her attire, she had also been born with her mother's innate desire to look fabulous. And being a part of the queen bee's regimen only reinforced that mentality. Satisfied with her overall appearance, Sienna gave her hair one more fluff, spritzed herself with the jasmine vanilla perfume she was known for, and then grabbed her Celine bag. Her mom had already ordered her books and since there was no classes today, she didn't feel the need to bring anything other than a purse. She glanced over at Hailey while grabbing her phone, noting the text messages. "We should probably go. Syd wants to meet at nine. One of my friends is getting Starbucks. Sending him an order now." Sienna told her, leading the other blonde out of her bedroom and shutting the bedroom door after them. The last thing she needed was Esmee raiding her closet in an attempt to find a better outfit despite probably already having one.

Speaking of, just as Sienna and Hailey were waiting for the elevator, Esmee emerged, fully dressed and looking very much like a carbon copy of a younger Sienna, though unique in her own sense. Before Esmee could utter a complaint, Sienna cut in, "No, we're not gonna talk about you stealing my sweater and no, you do not need to change. You're cute and adorable and it's time to go." Sienna dragged both her sister and friend into the elevator shaft with her, pressing for the lobby. Meanwhile, she sent out her own texts.

To: Connor
U r god-sent. ilu & I will pay u back. Grande salted caramel mocha & a grande caramel mocha. Its 4 a friend. Thanks

To: Vincent
LMAO

To: Piper, Sydney, Jane
Omw

"I'm lazy. Are we walking?" Esmee asked, turning big dark brown eyes to Sienna who only grinned. "Of course not!" She exclaimed, linking arms with her two girls as they entered the lobby from the private Alvarez elevator. The doorman smiled at them congenially and Sienna only nodded before returning her attention to Hailey and Esmee. "You two are arriving in style for your first day to Constance Billard and something tells me you're gonna be loving me for not making you walk in those." Sienna said the last part with a pointed look at Esmee's heels, which actually were Sienna's but they weren't going to discuss that. It was like Sienna didn't always allow her sister to borrow her clothes. Besides, it was an understandable question. Sienna, despite having the luxury of a driver with several different vehicles to get by in, loved walking those three blocks. She loved the crisp air of New York mornings, the sound her heels made on the pavement, and really just the act of taking in everything. However, she wanted her sister to make an entrance on her first day to what would become Sienna's alma mater and for everyone to know that Hailey was someone important. Not to mention fans would probably be in a frenzy seeing two mainstream artists still together after a summer as such.

They climbed into the limousine Cynthia must have exchanged for the Escalade Sienna had been expecting and as they rode on in the New York traffic, Sienna whipped out her phone and grinned at both girls. "Up for first day selfies?" She asked to which Esmee immediately nodded her head.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine Character Portrait: Connor Harkins
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Jane's home was located at the top of the Sherry-Netherland hotel, which had its perks. The Harry Ciprani restaurant was attached to the hotel, meaning that if she ever was in the mood for a good meal (which hadn't been recently) and their personal chef wasn't there, she could have someone bring something up at a moment's notice. She received all of the perks of a full service concierge staff, having a state-of-the-art gym and multiple boutiques in her building, but also had to deal with tourists. On the positive side, the hotel was one of the more expensive ones in the city which meant that the people weren't usually too scroungy. Plus, the penthouse had a private elevator, but either way there were always too many people in the lobby when she wasn't in the mood to be bothered. Since she had sacrificed dressing up more for the sake of time, she was closer to schedule than normal, but still rushing.

"Are you in need of a car service this morning, Miss?" one of the concierge members called out to her as she brushed past him. Apparently, he had been hired in the three months that she was gone because Jane was familiar with almost every member of the lobby staff by now. Living there for fifteen years made it almost inevitable. She didn't even validate the absurd question with a response. As it was every morning, a town car was waiting for her in front of the building. Before stepping in, she peered into the bag that Nicole had sent her off with but she only took out the bottled water before dumping the rest in a trash bin. There was no need to even tempt herself with knowing what else was inside.

"Someone's on schedule today," Max chuckled as she slipped into the back seat of the car. "Of course I am," she shot back in an offended tone. A smile had found its way to her face though. Max had been the Lynch's driver for years and he was certainly the staff member she liked best. When she spent hours at a gym across town to avoid her father's insistence that she stop working out, he would like and say she was at the movies with a friend. When she called him at 3 AM asking him to pick her up from a club, he wouldn't utter a word about it the next day, even if half of the drinks she consumed that night ended up on the floor of the car. He was a good guy and one of the people that Jane made an effort to be less bratty towards. "New year, new me, Maxwell! It's time to reinvent myself, which means that I might need to do some shopping before Syd's party tonight." He chuckled louder this time but his tone was genuine. "It's good to have you back, Jane." She smiled at him through the rear view mirror, in part to acknowledge his statement and also as an unspoken 'thanks' that he didn't ask her about her summer, or how she was feeling. She imagined that she would be interrogated enough in only a few minutes from her friends.

"We need to pick up Piper. I think her family moved to one of the buildings on Park Avenue last year," she stated in a distracted manner as her eyes scanned her phone. He didn't even bother to ask her if she knew the address because he knew that the answer would be no. Instead, he did what would have been the inevitable action and drove up the street with his eyes in search of the red head. He spotted her before Jane, because she only took her eyes off of her phone when she felt the car stop on the side of the road.

As soon as Piper stepped in, Jane squealed. For most of the morning, she was dreading the first day back and part of her still was, but she did miss her friends while she was away. Even if Sienna and Sydney didn't like her, or more accurately - trust her, Jane always had fun when she was with Piper. Whether that meant that they just traded services, of Jane having someone's ear to talk off, and Piper to have someone to shop with for free, was questionable. Still, Jane was excited to see her. "You look cute! How was your summer? You were on Long Island yesterday too, right? You should have called me! I was like dying being with my dad and step-mom all day. No amount of margaritas can drown out their annoying voices." Although she was sure it would be inevitable, she wanted to put off talking about her for as long as possible. She was still trying to work out the story she was going to give for why she was mysteriously gone for so long, with no contact, and hoped she could put it off until all of the girls were together. That way, at least she would be giving them all the same story and not accidentally changing it around if repeated different times.

She only turned her attention away from Piper when they pulled up in front of the school. Now, any excitement that Piper had brought was dwindling as she faced the reality of going back to school. If she was lucky, she thought, maybe Charlotte would have loosened up over the summer and wouldn't be such a bitch about letting her copy work now and then. In an attempt to waste more time in the car before having to step out, she texted Connor back and responded to Sienna's text in the group chat. She also responded to Seb, who she knew she would genuinely feel guilty lying to. It wasn't going to change the fact that she would give him the same story as everyone else though.

To: Connor
No thanks <3

To: Sienna, Piper, Sydney
Me and Piper are here!!!

To: Seb
Unfortunately

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine Character Portrait: Hailey Neilson
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Sienna could only laugh and comply when Hailey draped herself over both Sienna and Esmee, the latter who was quick to suck her cheeks in and cross her eyes. It was the classic Alvarez funny face and Sienna was more than willing to go along with it. Once the pictures were taken, Sienna posted them on Instagram. Instantly, there were a few likes and she had to grin to herself. There was a reason she was named one of the most powerful social media users in the mainstream and she was more than willing to contend to that title. Tucking a few strands behind her ear, Sienna stared over at Hailey who had rolled down her window. She smiled softly. "I remember those feelings," she admitted, seeing Constance's profile as they slowly pulled up. "Just remember not to let this school and all its drama swallow you whole." The majority of the comment was directed towards her sister who only rolled her eyes.

"Oh God, you're getting like your mother," Esmee lamented and Sienna stuck her tongue out at her little sister. "Whatever, you still love me. And what did I tell you about these Constance girls?" Esmee deadpanned, but the pressing look in Sienna's eyes prompted her to reply. "Remind them that I'm an Alvarez and I'm not scared to cut a bitch." Esmee said, which had Sienna chuckling with the memory of when she first told her sister this when Cynthia said she wanted all three generations of Alvarez girls to have attended Constance. "And?" Sienna pressed as the limousine pulled to a stop. She could already see people glancing at their vehicle in curiosity, though she knew most of the girls - save for the freshmen - recognized it as one of the Alvarez's limousines. "And if an upperclassmen steps to me, I'll tell 'em, 'come see my sister, bitch!'" Esmee finished with a grin and Sienna beamed back at her. Esmee was the first one to climb out and Sienna called after her, "Behave!" To which Esmee only waved her off as she found her friends from her former private school.

It was only when Sienna's leggy form made its way out of the limousine that Esmee turned around with a sneaky grin, calling to the crowd of students, "OH MY GAWD!! Is that Hailey Neilson and Sienna Alvarez getting out of a limo together?" A few heads whipped in their direction and Sienna tossed her little sister a murderous grin. Cheesing with the utmost innocent deviousness in her gleaming eyes, Esmee pulled her friends up the Constance stairs that she had seen Sienna go up many times before on her way to school while a good number of students made their way over to the singing duo. "That sneaky bitch," Sienna muttered only for Hailey to hear and linked arms with her friend, smiling at her fellow classmates. The big rule was that Sienna was not to sign autographs at school. She couldn't remember - for the life of her - why that had been put in place, something about that distracting students, but she remained cordial and nice with her fans. Besides, Constance was her way of at least attempting to be normal. She led Hailey over to the steps where she and the girls typically met, finding that she was the first one there. Sienna's eyes roved over the campus grounds before they fell on a familiar face not too far away.

Just like that, she was reminded why Vincent Mast was considered one of the most attractive guys at St. Jude's. Granted, there were a few hot guys that all the girls gossiped about, but Sienna knew that her ex-boyfriend was definitely the main one whispered in the halls when everyone thought she wouldn't pay attention. It still surprised her that people understood that he was still a sensitive topic for her, even when they were playing nice and being with their respective circle, but he never failed to just strike her...nervous. It was always appalling and she would feel this insurmountable anger towards him for the control he did not seem to realize he had over her. It's been about two years. How could just looking at him have her self-consciously fixing her hair and swallowing back a lump in her throat that wasn't there before? Taking a breath, she tugged at Hailey, nodding in Vincent's direction. "You remember that guy I said I was singing about, right? The one in 'Invincible?' She was referring to one of her more ballad-like singles and sighed. "Well, that's him." Sienna didn't hide that she was staring at Vincent because a second later, she was waving over to him, though not as wildly as she would for - say - August or even Connor. "Hey, Vince!" She didn't know if he would come over and say anything more, so she pulled out her phone to find her girls.

To: Sydney, Jane, Piper
Do not tell me I'm the 1rst 1 @ these steps! Where r u guys?

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Hailey Neilson
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Even walking at a casual pace, calling Connor, and allowing a group of junior girls to gush to her about their summers didn't waste enough time for one of her girls to arrive before her. Sydney couldn't blame Sienna for not being on time as directed because it was still nearly ten to nine and even she hadn't intended on arriving forty minutes before the assembly even began. Once the group of familiar junior girls spotted her approaching campus though, there was no turning back.

"What did you do this summer?!" one chirped curiously, as if she didn't already know. Sydney recognized her as Kylie Jameson, the girl who was almost always the first like or favorite on any of her Instagram posts or tweets. "You went to the Emmy's right? That picture of you and Jack Harkins was sooo cute," Lilly Rowen chimed in before she had time to answer the first. Not like she was planning on giving them much of a response anyway. The girls were all very sweet (to her, at least), but they were juniors. Had they been a year older, she might have considered them to be friends but for now, they were nothing more than people to dote on her and feed her information when needed. They definitely weren't close enough to be filled in too specifically on her summer adventures, especially when her two closest friends had ditched her during it. "I've been attending the Emmy Awards since I was six years old. Of course I was there," Sydney replied after a long, unattached pause as she gazed around the courtyard. Her tone was not as condescending or snide as the words suggested, but it certainly was cold. The juniors had continued on with their rambling, mostly about how nice she looked and how excited they were for her party that evening. Normally she would have snapped at them for being so annoying, but today she needed people to keep her busy until her girls arrived.

Luckily, the wait was no longer necessary. Sydney had missed the limousine pulling up moments before, probably since it blended in with many of the other cars dropping students off, but she was within hearing distance of Esmee's reference to Sienna and Hailey. Although many of the others in the area couldn't resist to glance curiously in the pair's direction, Sydney kept her eyes focused on the girls in front of her. She didn't care about, or even hear, much of what they were saying, but she'd be damned if she actually acted like Sienna and Hailey's presence really peaked her interest that much. Even if Sienna was her close friend, Sydney wasn't going to allow her to think that she was that head-turning. Her successful tour had probably already given her enough of an inflated ego. No, she's on my team this year. Piper already poisoned Jane. If nothing else, I need to keep Sienna on my side. Sydney did want her friendship with Sienna to work out. As dramatic as the girl could be, there was much more good to her than bad and when they were both playing nice, they did have good moments. She was going to need to make an extra effort this year, especially considering that she was feeling more guilty after sleeping with Vincent a second time this year.

After another two or three minutes of listening idly to the girls go on and on about their own summers, Sydney held up a finger to stop them mid-sentence. "I'm so happy I got to catch up with you girls. I better see you two at my party tonight." The artificially-sweet tone to her voice was hard to ignore, especially as she dismissed the third, unknown girl, who had joined the group and certainly wasn't on the invite list to her party. She had purposely waited to leave the girls until Sienna and Hailey were already waiting for her on the steps, but as soon as they were, she headed over there herself.

On most school days, she liked to sit on the steps before the morning bell rang to gossip with the girls about whatever had happened that past weekend or discuss what they planned on doing over the next one. Today, though, she didn't want to take the chance of her dress getting ruined and opted to stand across from Sienna and Hailey. She had spotted Vincent walking towards them, but like most people, didn't give him a second glance. He's not important, she tried to remind herself, despite her inner-self telling her otherwise.

"You're on time and you look cute. At least I have one reliable friend," she smiled, whipping her phone out to see Sienna's text, which was now pointless to answer, and that it was only a few minutes past nine. There was one from Jane in the group chat as well, but as soon as she saw that she was here with Piper, she slipped it back into her bag. Jane was already getting on her nerves and arriving to school, after three months of basically being dead, wasn't helping her case. On the plus side, it made Sienna seem like a much better friend and Sydney embraced her in a tight squeeze as soon as her phone was away.

Had Hailey not been standing next to Sienna, she would have made a remark to Sienna about how there was no way that she was going to be able to stick to their plan with Jane, but she knew better than to gossip around strangers. Sydney was happy knowing every bit of gossip on anyone important but she wasn't going to spread anything about her closest friend. Although she was vaguely aware of who Hailey was - some singer that Sienna had toured with - she preferred to act like the girl's identity was completely unknown to her. Even if she was a senior, she was going to be treated as unimportant as any other new student to the school. At least until she proved herself to be of their standard, which Sydney was unsure could ever happen in just one year. "And you are...?" She looked Hailey up and down and although she wasn't exactly impressed, her inquisitive smile never faltered.




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Vincent didn't like the way that his eyes instantly searched the crowd of students as soon as he heard her name being shouted by her sister. It was like her name alone had the power to make him stand up straighter and puff out his chest a bit more, for his heart to speed up and for his head to replay every good memory they had together. If his mother knew he reacted that way, she undoubtedly would claim that her intuition was spot on and that he had to ask Sienna back out. The thought had crossed his mind more than once over the last week alone, but he knew that Sienna had moved on. She had dated some rapper and supposedly slept with a bunch of other guys since the two of them were together. Vincent couldn't claim that he had been any more celibate than she, though. His sex drive was what had ruined their relationship in the first place. However, when her voice called out to him, there was no way that he could resist grinning. She was the only person who could allow him to lose his cool and collected front, even if it was only for a minute.

If it had been any other girl, he would have obnoxiously grabbed her ass or held her to him for longer than necessary, but he only gave Sienna a friendly hug. There were too many emotions there that he didn't want to get into, and honestly, if he was forced to breath the all too familiar scent of her perfume in for any longer, he probably would have tried to make out with her right then and there. Besides, Sydney was standing a foot away, and dealing with the two girls together always felt uncomfortable. "Seriously though, right after you texted me, I was bombarded with baby pictures from my mom," he smiled, referencing their conversation from earlier. Although it was hard to just keep things on a friendly level with Sienna, Vincent knew that it was the best way, or maybe even the only way, to get through this year. After greeting her, he gave Sydney a similar hug. "You're looking good, Vale. I see that the Hamptons sun treated you nicely," he grinned, admiring her sun-kissed skin. Lastly, he looked towards Hailey Neilson, who he only knew through hearing about Sienna's tour from his mother. "You must be Hailey." He extended a hand towards her. She was definitely attractive enough for him to want to hug, but he had the reputation of Prince Charming to maintain, not that of a man-whore. "I've heard a lot about you. My sister's a big fan." It wasn't a lie. His young sister was obsessed with Sienna and had insisted that Colette take her and some of her friends to one of Sienna and Hailey's local concerts this summer. Conveniently, Vincent had been out of state at a lacrosse tournament. "And, hey, it's always nice to have another blonde on campus," His grin might have turned into more of a smirk at that remark. He seemed to have a growing craving for blondes.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Hailey Neilson
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Hailey was brought back out of her thoughts when her phone chimed again. It was just an Instagram update, notifying her but she of course, had already knew that it was Sienna's picture that was uploaded. She hit the like button then looked over at Sienna with a smile while looking back down at her phone, uploading their funny faces pic to Instagram, as well. Her photo had gotten instant likes and comments from her fans as she commented with a thank you.

She looked over at Sienna with a smile as she talked and nodded her head but the comments seemed to be aimed at her little sister though Hailey will be taking that advice, as well. She felt as the limo slowed down and eventually came to a stop in front of the new school she'd be attending. Butterflies began to fill her stomach. Sienna's and Esmee's voices faded out as she wasn't really ready for this. Hailey hoped that she wasn't having a panic attack, not now anyway. Her ears twitched when Esmee yelled out hers and Sienna's arrival and she was brought back to reality. Hailey looked over at Sienna and laughed at her comment. "At least she is also a clever bitch." Hailey nodded her head after her comment then exited the limo after Sienna.

She saw that everyone's eyes were on them both as she didn't really feel like being superstar Hailey right now and it seems that Sienna felt the same way. People's eyes soon were not on them anymore as her demeanor basically told the story that she rather not be bother, really. She looked at Sienna when she mentioned a guy in a song then nodded her head, speaking softly. "Yeah?" She looked over at a handsome fellow, whom Sienna practically called over.

Her eyes reviewed over Vincent as he came over and Sydney as she came over as well. She stayed in the background until she was brought up in the conversation, which really didn't take long. Her eyes looked over towards Sydney as she reviewed her up and down in the same demeanor as Sydney did her. Hailey smirked a little then stepped forth. "How do you not know who I am?" Hailey said with a little bit of arrogance then chuckled lightly. "I am Hailey. And who might you be?" Hailey was already not liking this Sydney person, whomever she might be to Sienna. She had an awful vibe about her.

Though when Vincent spoke towards her, she smiled brightly and widely, nodding her head. "Yes, I am Hailey." She shook his hand then broke the transaction, dropping her hand back by her side. "Let me guess.." She eyed Vincent. "You must be Vincent?" She laughed a little while continuing to converse with him. "Ah, I see your sister has an excellent taste in music then." She continued to smile until Vincent made the another blonde on campus comment then her smile dwindled away as she looked off for a brief moment.

"So, when are we going inside? I am anxious to see what the inside looks like." She asked then said while eying Vincent, Sydney and Sienna, rocking on the balls of her feet as she waited for someone to respond to her.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Charlotte H. Buchanan Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Hailey Neilson
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She could do this, Sienna decided as she noticed Vincent approaching them. She could keep up this friendly charade. It was their senior year and surely, they could be better than they were before, right? After all, no matter what happened in their romantic relationship, their families were still connected to this day. It was hard to just hate him for an eternity, especially with the way her heart felt like it sucker-punched her ribcage the closer he got. Sienna would surely deny this if anyone asked, but she was more than grateful for Sydney's presence when it came. She had not even noticed the queen bee's arrival until that moment. Smiling, Sienna turned to her friend and was more than surprised to be hugged by Sydney, especially as tight as she had been. I can't take today if my heart's gonna keep acting up, Sienna thought to herself at the throbbing of said muscle as she hugged her friend back before pulling away with a beaming smile. "And you're looking as regal as ever, Syd."

As she pulled away from Sydney, Vincent had already made his way over and Sienna was in too good of a mood now that she and Sydney seemed to be in a good place for the moment to not fall into his hug. Granted, she had to get away a bit more quickly than she had with Sydney. At least there it wasn't so foreign, didn't leave her wanting to just remain there and bask in a scent she only allowed herself to think about when she was not with her friends. There was a bit of disappointment that filled her, as if her body was protesting the idea of not hugging her ex - which was absurd - so Sienna concentrated on what he was saying instead of how unfair it was that his eyes were really blue at the moment. She giggled a bit at the thought of Colette and her mother both having their "mommy moments" as she had termed when they were kids. "Oops, probably jinxed you. My bad!" She exclaimed, her smile wide. "I've actually gotta catch up with Colette sometimes." She said, though it was more to herself than anything else. Since she and Vincent had broken up, Sienna had distanced herself from the Mast family - not so much so that it was obvious that she detested them or something along those lines, but that she didn't spend as much time with her mother and Colette as she did when she was younger. The last time Cynthia brought that up sounded like Colette actually wanted to see her and well, Collie had been one of her favorite people growing up.

So caught up in trying to figure out her own feelings, Sienna had come in on the part where Vincent's gaze lingered a bit too long on Sydney just and just as he turned towards Hailey, leaving Sienna to clutch her bag just a bit tightly to herself. It was a discreet tick of hers, so she swiped at wayward strands that had been tousled due to the gust of wind swept through them. Down, girl she had to tell herself. You said it was over. He can look all he wants. Nodding to herself subtly, she caught on to Vincent's comments about blondes and rolled her eyes, turning to Hailey to see the face she made. "Ignore him," she told her fellow singer lowly but still kept it loud enough for Vincent to hear, a teasing smirk on her naturally plump lips. "I do." It didn't take long for Sienna to catch on to a bit of tension between Sydney and Hailey, and the actual anxiety that seemed to seep from the new girl's pores. She didn't need Sydney clashing so inexplicably with Hailey - not on her first day, at least. Sienna didn't see them being the best of friends, but they damn sure didn't need to get in to anything on the first day of school. She glanced at Hailey, stared at Sydney for a second, before glancing back at Hailey with a pensive expression. "Hey, if you wanna go in, go ahead without me. Just follow the students and you'll be in the auditorium. I gotta meet some people out here, but I'll come find you with the drinks, ok?" Sienna didn't want to just throw Hailey to the wolves or even abandon her, but the girl's nerves wouldn't be settled until she was inside and could really take everything in. Plus, she and Sydney still needed to talk. Also, the rest of her friends needed to get here, she decided and glanced down at her phone to send out a few messages.

To: August
Where r u?

To: Jane
Bring yourself, ma'am

To: Charlotte
Don't tell me I beat u here, Madam President :p

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Hailey Neilson
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It probably didn't count for much since she had been with Sienna for less than five minutes, but at least for now, Sydney was satisfied with where they stood. Their greeting seemed sincere and Sydney had no reason for it not to be on her part, at least. Especially with Jane losing a few points on the friend-scale, Sienna was looking pretty good today. She returned the bright smile as her friend complimented her, and swept a strand of hair away from her face as she turned to face Vincent. God, was he attractive. His preppy outfit, perfect hair, defined jawline... everything about him made him the perfect guy. Besides the fact that he still had feelings for Sienna. It was something that Sydney was well aware of, and although it probably should have been Sienna who was feeling hurt, Sydney was offended that he could still like her. Almost everyone liked Sienna, but not in the way that Vincent liked her. Sydney's eyes followed him closely as he wrapped his arms around Sienna. Bitch... She was caught up in cursing the pair mentally that she almost allowed her composed smile to slip into a glare. Not this early in the year, and definitely not this early in the day, she warned herself as she straightened up physically.

When he turned to hug her, she made sure that the embrace wasn't any longer than Sienna's. "You look nice too. Not like I would expect anything less from you, Vince," she rolled her eyes and smiled playfully at him. She knew that her relationship with Vincent was something that could never move past secret one night stands. At least, it couldn't if she wanted to remain friends with Sienna, which seemed questionable at times. So far today, Sienna was more important than Vincent. Friends first, she tried to remind herself, which brought her thoughts back to Jane, who still hadn't shown up. She instinctively blamed it on Piper. She was probably pulling Jane in every other direction than their group. She hadn't seen the redhead in months and she was already sick of her.

Hailey's response was probably the most surprising. How do I not know who you are? Maybe because you're a fucking nobody? Go join the freshman, Miss 'I am Hailey'. Maybe you were someone important in your old life, but here, you're a nobody. She wanted to speak the words badly and had the confidence and self-granted authority to do so, but Sienna jumped in before she could respond with anything more than a quirked eyebrow. It was probably for the best that she didn't have a chance to publicly cut Hailey down before school even started, but she was definitely taking note of her behavior. If Sienna thought she was bringing that girl to her party tonight, she was sorely mistaken. Sydney didn't care if Hailey planned on following Sienna's good advice and went into the school or not, because she wasn't going to waste any more of her time on this new girl. She gave Sienna an "are you kidding me?" look, before turning her attention to Vincent. "Where's Kelley?" Her relationship with Vincent's cousin was an interesting one. She probably would consider Kelley a friend, but the two were known to bicker to no end. Kelley wasn't the type of girl to take Sydney's bossiness and arrogance lying down, and Sydney was the first to call Kelley out on being 'trashy' or out of control. She didn't really care about her whereabouts, but needed something to distract her until Hailey left, Jane showed up, or her coffee got here.




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As much as he preffered it to not speaking to Sienna at all, their friendly conversation felt so strange. It was hard for him to act like they were just friends, and not even close ones, when he knew her so well. Sure, trying things again would be messy and probably never wanted on Sienna's side, but pretending that there wasn't still something between them was just as straining for him. It was even harder when she was now standing in front of him, looking better than ever, and he couldn't do anything more than hug her for a few seconds and chat about mindless things. "Yeah, she's coming into town one night this week for dinner. You should come. Kelley will probably tag along too," he offered casually. It was a simple and open invitation, and he acted as non-chalantly about it as he could, but he wanted her to come. His mother was just as open about wanting him to date Sienna as her mother, and he almost wanted her to put them on the spot. At least then, he could see what Sienna's reaction would be to even a playful suggestion of them getting back together.

The new girl's reaction to Sydney's normal bitchiness made even Vincent cringe inside. No one spoke to Sydney Vale that way and if she genuinely didn't know who she was already, she would be finding out in a less than pleasant way soon enough, he imagined. He waited for Sydney's claws to come out and for her to verbally tear the girl, and her chance at a social life, to shreds, but it didn't. Sydney ran her eyes over Hailey once more and then turned her attention to Sienna. She gave her a look that he could only interpret as being a mixture of annoyance, shock and anger, before addressing him. She brought up Kelley, who he still hadn't heard from since leaving her in his spare room earlier that morning. For all he knew, she had died of alcohol poisoning. It wasn't an unrealistic conclusion to her typical night out, but what was he supposed to do? They were cousins, and nearly the same age. He couldn't be her father or older brother. They were friends and that's how he wanted it to stay. "She's passed out at my apartment. I doubt we'll be seeing her until your party," he laughed.

Although he knew it was going to piss Sydney off, he felt like Sienna was in a bad place with both of the girls who already were on bad terms standing right beside each other. So, he turned to Hailey and with a playful smile, spoke. "I'm heading inside now. Can I have the honor of walking 'the new girl' in?"

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Hailey Neilson
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Hailey eyed Sienna as she spoke towards her, telling her to ignore Vincent. The comment made her smile somewhat then she glanced over towards him, taking in his attractiveness for a moment. She eventually snapped back to reality after realizing that she couldn't do that Sienna, her best friend. Though, the thought did cross her mind about being with Vincent since he does have a thing for blondes. Her inner monologue made her smile even wider then looked at Sienna as she was talking to her again.

"Uhm, yeah, that actually sounds like a good idea right about now." Hailey responded to Sienna while turning heel and looking at the school's entrance. She turned back to Sienna. "I'll see you inside then." She smiled then turned towards Sydney. "Oh, Sydney..." Hailey eyes looked the female up and down again then went back up to her eyes as Hailey shrugged her shoulders. "Eh, never mind." She smiled while turning back around, flipping her blonde locks of hair around in the process, fixing to take a step towards the inside until Vincent came up.

"This new girl name is Hailey." She said playfully but made her comment loud enough for Sydney to hear. "And yes, I shall give you that honor." Hailey linked her arm around Vincent's as she giggled slightly. "So, what's up with that Sydney girl?" She asked Vincent as she was basically dragging him into the school because she was excited to see how it appeared to be on the inside. "You know what, don't answer that. I am not here to start or cause drama." She chuckled slightly as they reached the doors and she unwrapped her arm from Vincent's.

She opened the door for herself but held it so that Vincent could trail in behind her. "What do you know about this school, Sir Vince?" She asked. "I know that you do not go to school here but you must know something." Hailey eyed Vincent slightly until a few of the girls squealed and came up to them, asking Hailey for her autograph. "Aw, sure." She asked the girls their names and wrote her autograph, ending with the signature star beside her name. "There you girls go. I'll be seeing you around." She waved at them as they continued their trek past her and Vincent. "Sorry, you were saying Vince."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine
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In an effort to waste as many extra seconds as possible, Jane sent off another text message to Sebastian, this time being more elaborate than her earlier one-word response.

To: Seb
Unfortunately meaning unfortunately yes I will be at school, not unfortunately I get to see you!!! I missed you I'm in the courtyard come say hi!!!

The message was sent, so she supposed it was necessary to actually be in the courtyard now that she had told him she would be. The last thing she needed was to be lying about yet another thing. Sienna's followup text only enforced that she needed to get out of the car eventually, and she was as ready now as she would ever be. She glanced back towards Piper, unsure if she would also be headed straight for the steps. It was the group's usual meeting spot but it was no secret to Jane that Piper and Sydney were far from friends. It seemed like their relationship was even worse than Sydney and Sienna's, which was certainly saying something. Besides, as forbidden as it seemed to stray away from their group, Piper had other friends. Connor, August and Dustin were just a few of the faces she had seen her with, not to mention Brent. However, Jane was sure that Brent was just as much of a "friend" to Piper as he was to her, and that wasn't at all.

"I'll be on the steps!" she informed Piper as she stepped out of the car. She tried to sound enthusiastic and excited, but it was hard. As happy as she was going to be to see Sienna and Sydney after so long, she was nervous. She was nervous to deal with their reactions to her absence, Sydney's wrath over not being informed, about school starting, and about being back at home where her old habits were so easy to pick up. More than anything, she wanted to go home and curl back up in her warm bed. She was convinced that she just needed one more day's worth of rest before she would be able to face everyone, but she wasn't going to get that, and before she knew it, Sydney and Sienna were only feet away. If her thoughts weren't clouded with her own panic, she would have commented on how strange it was to see the two girls looking so comfortable in each other's presence. While outsiders probably suspected that they were as close of friends as they portrayed, Jane knew, probably better than anyone else, how false that was.

She walked slowly and lightly up the steps and unwillingly removed her sunglasses from her face and tucked them into her bag before reaching the girls. For a split second, she froze. Now that she was standing in front of her best friends, a mix of emotions washed over her. She wanted to hug them and tell them how much she missed them. She wanted to be honest and explain that what she thought she had under control had gotten out of hand way too quickly and even though she didn't want help, she needed it. She would apologize for missing Sydney's birthday and Sienna's summer tour and promise them that for now on, she would be upfront about things. It would have been the better long-term option but Jane was all about short-term fixes and if she could avoid telling the truth and dealing with those emotions for even five more minutes, she would.

In that second, she had convinced herself that even the truth wouldn't be enough of a good reason to excuse her from being bombarded with questions, so lying was the only option. However, she wasn't going to lie unless she had to. For now, she was going to do what she was good at: avoiding.

It wasn't hard for her to switch from a nervous, internally-freaking out Jane to the bubbly and exuberant one she was known as. She had spent years of hiding her illness doing just that, and when she approached with a bright smile on her face and a cheerful tone, it felt natural. "Good morning girlies!" She hugged Sienna first. She had been the only one of the pair to respond to her texts over the past few days and her relationship with Sienna was always fun. There was no way that she was going to reject affection from her, Jane decided. "I passed Esmee on my way and she looks so cute. I can't believe that girl is already in high school!" She was more noticeably nervous when her gaze shifted towards Sydney and in that moment, she looked like the ice cold queen bee that people feared rather than her childhood best friend. She didn't throw herself onto Sydney like she had to Sia, and instead, extended her arms only halfway. "Can I get a hug?" she batted her eyelashes obnoxiously, but her grin showed that she knew she had something to feel guilty about. "I still don't know what I'm wearing tonight. Can we go shopping after the assembly?" It seemed like a good way to keep the conversation moving, without turning the focus on her too much.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Vincent Mast Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Hailey Neilson Character Portrait: Isabela Monroe
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Despite whatever reserves either of them felt for being as nice to one another after so long, Sienna could only shoot Vincent an appreciative glance when he announced that he was heading inside. She didn't know if the silent thank-you had been taken as he walked off with Hailey, but Sienna definitely was grateful. The last thing she needed was to deal with Sydney snapping at Hailey and then her having to step in. As selfish as it sounded, she and Sydney were actually on good terms at the moment and Sienna preferred this to their typical underhanded digs and semi-hostile banter. She did, however, note in her head that she would be for a dinner with Colette and Kelley. Their relationship had never been hostile, even when Sienna had moved to telling herself she hated Vincent.

Once Vincent and Hailey were enough of a distance away from them, Sienna's smile dropped. "Where the hell are they? I thought Jane said they were here." She hissed, glancing around as more students slowly filed in. Some were linking up with their typical cliques, others alone. Sienna could tell, just by faces and body language, that the majority of the people outside currently were upperclassmen from both St. Judes and Constance. The freshmen would be the first to amble inside, not wanting to miss anything. The upperclassmen have experienced too many first-day-back speeches and unnecessary sitting for long periods of time. Jane should have been here by now. Her and Piper should have already greeted them and she was beginning to worry that Jane was trying to skip out on seeing them. After all, Jane could be...well, Jane wasn't the most perceptive in the group, but even she knew that she was in the wrong. She also knew that neither Sienna nor Sydney were dumb. She wouldn't not show up to school just to get out of seeing them, would she? She whipped back around to Sydney. "Do you think she actually went back home?"

Jane appeared at the bottom of the steps from the corner of her eye and Sienna paused, taking a moment to glance downward at her friend. It was probably a strange sight - Sydney Vale and Sienna Alvarez, standing close together without anyone standing in between them. Well, it would be strange for Jane and maybe Piper. However, their tension was almost nonexistent in the face of the girl whom neither had seen all summer save for the two selfies she thought would appease them in the past few days. Sienna wanted to immediately hound Jane. She wanted to wrench the truth out of until there was nothing left but honesty. After all, Jane couldn't be the one in the group keeping secrets. She couldn't be the one with feelings suppressed under the guise of friendship when said friendship was tested on a regular basis. No, she needed to go back to being their sweet, spoiled and simple friend. Which was why Sienna did not resist when the brunette finally made her way up the stairs and hugged her. She couldn't help it. Sienna always felt like Jane needed to be shown affection - she needed protection. However, as she wrapped an arm around the other senior, her gaze met Sydney's over Jane's shoulder. When they pulled away, Sienna smiled.

Sienna was not a fool to the fact that Sydney was probably the most upset one when it came to Jane and ran a hand through her hair idly, playing with the ends as Jane anxiously interacted with the queen bee. She normally would come to Jane's defense, offer her shopping services since the two did enjoy shopping sprees frequently - even when Sienna was shopping more for Esmee than herself. However, she felt like Jane deserved this. She needed to actually interact with Sydney and win back her favor - both of their favors. Besides, she couldn't offer any type of service today. Not if she wanted to release this full EP by her birthday. She did, however, opt to ask, "Where's Piper? I thought she was with you."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: [NPC] Bartender Character Portrait: Charlotte H. Buchanan Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Connor Harkins
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The Starbucks line definitely put Connor behind schedule and by the time he was leaving the shop, a tray full of drinks in hand, he was nearly jogging to make up on time. Luckily, with the amount of coffee shops in the city, this one was only a few blocks away from Constance Billard and it didn't take him more than five minutes to arrive in front of the school. Although he could see people filing into the building, the courtyard was still fairly populated. He hoped that meant that the girls he had drinks for were still outside because he doubted he would be able to find them once they were all seated inside.

It wasn't hard to find Sydney and Sienna. The friend group had claimed a spot on the steps that no one else dared to wait on in the mornings before school. Even he knew that, and he didn't even attend the school. Both girls, as well as Jane Lynch, were standing where he expected to find them and he hurried towards them. "Hey!" he exclaimed as he reached the top of the steps. He was smiling widely and although it was probably obvious that he was most interested in Sydney, he was also close friends with both of the other girls. He considered Sienna to be one of his closest friends and he and Jane frequently hooked up at parties, so he knew all three girls fairly well. "A vanilla iced coffee for Miss Vale, a grande salted caramel mocha for Miss Alvarez and a grande caramel mocha for the unnamed friend." Only Sienna and Sydney had requested drinks, so he distributed those to him and then took a moment to study the girls. He didn't pick up on the tension between the three girls, or more specifically, between Jane and the two others, but he didn't have time to delve into it either.

Charlotte had texted him, reminding him that he needed to get inside to get ready. Although most of the assembly was dictated by the deans of the schools, he and Lottie had to welcome back their classes at the start of it. He was sure that the Constance Billard president had prepared something extensive and professional, but he was just going to wing it. While Lottie had earned her spot as president by being the best candidate for the job, he had really only been elected by being friends with nearly everyone at the boy's school. "I have to go find Charlotte, but I'll see you guys inside," he said, leaving just as quickly as he had shown up. It was probably for the best though, since even if he didn't realize it, the girls probably wanted some privacy as the caught up for the first time in months.

He found Charlotte close by, heading into the school. "Hey, I just got your text. What's up?" She had said something about needing to vent, which didn't sound good. Though, it wouldn't have surprised him if she was just working herself up over the new school year. She always ended up going above and beyond with every one of her many commitments and responsibilities, but it didn't stop her from freaking out over most of them in the process.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Charlotte H. Buchanan Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Connor Harkins Character Portrait: Dustin Sanderson
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Piper Vine
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Piper waited for Jane's car to pull up when she felt her phone vibrate. Looking down she saw it was Connor asking is anyone wanted some coffee. The answer would be no. She was perfectly fine with drinking water. Coffee gives her the jitters. So instead of responding, she just left the text alone. As she put her phone away, it began to buzz again. This time it was Dustin saying he probably wouldn't be home after their school assembly. Connor replied to her text earlier, but she should be at school soon so she just left it.

To: Dustin
No problem!

Just as she put her phone away for good, Jane's car rolled up. Piper smiled as she got into the vehicle. "Hey girl!" Piper gave Jane a hug as she continued to smile. Then in typical Jane fashion she started talking rather quickly. Piper just let her finish before chiming in. "Well it was sort of a last minute trip. If I had known you were there as well I would've invited you." Piper didn't really pay too much attention to the pictures Jane would post, so she must have missed the one letting her know they were in the same place. Oh well. Piper was more concerned with Jane's health. She would be lying if she said during the car ride to school she didn't look at Jane's body to see if she gained any weight. Looking back on it Jane did look unhealthy skinny last school year. She wished she would have caught it sooner before it got to the point that it had. The whole ordeal made Piper feel like she should try to be better friend.

The rest of the car ride Jane's mainly talked about whatever. Finally they arrived at the school and Piper could sense Jane's nervousness. She had a right to be. She really didn't contact anyone, and piper knew that probably sent Sydney into a rage. Honestly she doesn't know why Jane is friends with Sydney, but whatever. Talking about Sydney just gives Piper a headache. Just as Jane got out Piper felt her phone ring. It was her brother calling. "I'll meet up with you and the girls in a second." If her brother was calling her there was no way she wasn't going to answer. Thomas was her everything.

Piper got out of the car and stood on the sidewalk as Jane went off to meet Sienna and Sydney. "What's up Thomas?" Piper questioned. "I saw some papers on your desk about this old couple? Are they related to us?" Thomas sounded excited at the possibilities, but Piper didn't share his enthusiasm. "No, they aren't related to us. But don't worry about it for now. I'll find them for sure. Now go to school!" Piper quickly hung up the phone before Thomas could talk any more. She completely forgot to tell him about it, but seeing as she hit a road block she figured it was best not to tell him. Turning, on her heels and headed to the steps.

She could see the three girls in the distance, plus a couple of other people. Piper saw Connor but he was leaving, Probably to go meet Charlotte. "Honestly the two should just date." She grinned to herself. Piper met the girls on the stairs and smiled to Sienna and briefly grinned at Sydney. "Hello girls." She put on her best smile. Her hatred for Sydney increased over the summer, so it was extremely hard to even look in her direction. "I'm assuming everyone's summer went okay?" Piper looked amongst the girls before checking the time. The assembly was starting soon, but honestly if she missed it she wouldn't even care. But going inside would be better than dealing with the current awkward atmosphere. Surely Sydney and Sienna were curious about Jane's absence over the summer. It's surprising neither of them had bombarded Jane yet. "By the way Sienna your outfit is too precious. It's very city chic." Piper complimented. "But I'm sure we should start heading inside for the assembly." The assembly was something Piper dreaded, but it would be better then standing on the being awkward.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jane Lynch Character Portrait: Sienna Alvarez Character Portrait: Sydney Vale Character Portrait: Piper Vine
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It wasn't fair that it had to be Jane betraying her. If it was Piper, Charlotte, Kelley, maybe even Sienna, it would have been very easy for Sydney to simply act like they weren't even speaking to her. When Jane appeared, looking noticeably nervous, it seemed impossible for Sydney to just cast her off. She was her best friend, the girl she had grown up with and no matter how annoyed and offended Sydney was by her secrecy, she couldn't keep her heartless reputation up around her. That wasn't to say that Sydney was going to forget the issue or just act like everything was fine, because it wasn't. It was completely egotistical, but Sydney was victimizing herself more than she was Jane. It was Jane who was walled up in some facility for an entire summer. It was Jane who had been so sick and so desperate to conceal her illness that she couldn't even let her friends know about the problem. It was Jane who had probably spent years suffering mentally, but it was Sydney who felt like she had been betrayed. In their circle, no one kept things from Sydney, and if she found out that they were, she couldn't understand why.

It was especially hurtful that it was Jane who was hiding this from her, though. Even though she was older than both her and Sienna, she was kind of the "baby" of the group. She was the absentminded, emotional, naive and frankly, the dumb one. It couldn't have taken Sydney by more of a surprise when she found out that she was also the deceitful one. Her innocence worked to her favor though, because it kept Sydney from being too cold to her. When Jane requested a hug, Sydney forced a half-smile and allowed the brunette to wrap her arms around her. She eventually wrapped her arms around Jane as well, but made a point of pinching her in the side before pulling away. It was a little way to signal that she wasn't happy with her, and as bad as it sounds, to see if she really was thin enough to have been sent to rehab. It was no secret that Jane was always stick-thin but had it really gotten that bad that it could be considered ill? Apparently so, but it bothered Sydney that she hadn't been perceptive enough to notice. Jane was a bad friend for hiding it from her, but maybe she was a bad friend for not picking up on it, especially when the person hiding it was as transparent as Jane was.

Her eyes met Sienna's before she released Jane, and her look hardened in that moment. It was her way of shaking her head and telling Sienna that this wasn't over. She probably didn't even need to give her the look to know that the girl was on the same page as her, though. When Jane requested that someone come shopping with her, Sienna surprisingly brushed past the question and changed the subject to Piper's whereabouts. Sydney wasn't excited to see the redhead in the least bit, but she did appreciate that Sienna didn't take Jane up on the offer to go shopping, since the pair frequently did that together.

Connor showed up right after the girls had finished hugging, and luckily, he didn't stick around long. She offered him a grateful smile as he handed her a drink, but was surprised when he offered Sienna two cups as well. Since when did he take orders from anyone besides her? It bothered Sydney, but she did her best to act unfazed. That was something she would have to deal with later. For now, they had a big enough problem and if she and Sienna were in agreement on one thing, she wasn't going to ruin that for someone as trivial as Connor.

"I don't have time to go shopping." It was true. Sydney would probably spend much of the afternoon making sure that everything was going to be perfect that night. Even if she was going to have a spare hour or two, it wouldn't be nearly long enough to shop with Jane. After years of knowing the girl, she knew that if there was one thing that Jane could focus on, it was shopping. It could take hours for her to get through a department store and not only did Sydney not have the time or patience for that tonight, she wasn't going to give in to Jane like that. Winning back Sydney's trust and friendship wasn't that easy. She looked Jane over for what felt like a while, and then glanced back towards the steps, expecting to see Piper appear at any moment. She didn't know if Jane would even have a chance to answer before Piper appeared, but she was going to take the chance. Sienna was usually the dramatic one, but this morning Sydney just couldn't keep up this facade. "Are you going to explain yourself, or do you expect us to just pretend like you didn't disappear all summer?" Sydney's expression was blank but her eyes were focused on Jane, who she expected to lie. It didn't matter though, because they knew the truth, and even if she was going to follow Sienna's direction and just ask like they believed whatever lie she wanted to give them, she wanted to see Jane squirm. She deserved it.

Just as she expected, there was barely any time after she finished speaking before Piper appeared. Sydney's gaze shifted towards her, but her expression remained stone cold. She didn't respond to her inquiry about their summers. Not only did she not care to share her summer experiences with Piper, but she also knew that the girl didn't care. Just as much as Piper probably knew that Sydney hated her, she knew that Piper wasn't her biggest fan either. Which was a shame, really. Piper could have made a nice minion for her. "We were just on our way in," she said, now acknowledging Piper. It wasn't true, but she wasn't going to let Piper dictate their plans. "Ready girls?" Her eyes were now mostly focused on Sienna. Even she realized how strange it was that she was making Sienna her right hand man today, but as of this morning, she seemed to be the most genuine friend there.