adatrox    _{*  raynne.}

      a sigh lifts, sounding irritation for a heartbeat.   ‘    hate when you do that.  spit it out.   ’   

_{“     bite me.     ”     a more civil alternative to  don’t tell me what to do.     “     just wondering if you seen someone.    shaved head,  looks kinda like a hard - boiled egg.    stupid - ass socks ‘n a rank hoodie  …  ?     ”}

originalgrilla    _{*  bugs.}

_{‘     whatever.    you  smoke  like that crazy old bitch.     ’       not that he’s one to talk.       ‘     y’ ever seen her up close    —    like,   real  close ?    'cause that’s what you got t’ look  forward  to if you don’t keep it fresh,   you know what i’m sayin’ ?     ’}

_{“     nope  —  just through the glass,  which is where linden’s gonna be seein’ me when they  lock me up  for straight murderin’ your  scraggly  ass,  fool !     ”    empty threats must be on special.    she isn’t above socking him in the gut again to prove a point,  though.     “     yo,  you get any more leads on that  case  that i should know about ?     ”}

originalgrilla    _{*  bugs.}

_{only if they’re a  success.    he likes to think he’s less easily manipulated than most.       ‘     why you always gotta be such a hater ?    i’m like a fine wine,   you know,   just gets better with age.    ‘n you best start exfoliatin’,   y’ hear ?    otherwise you’re gonna wake up one day lookin’ like  mama dips.     ’}

_{he’s wrong.    but she’ll save that discussion for a later date and instead focus on the conversation at hand,  which boils down to defending her own honour.     “     yo,  listen,  i ain’t no  expert dermatologist,  but i think i got about forty more years ‘fore i start lookin’ like  that  crazy old bitch.     ”}

originalgrilla    _{*  bugs.}

_{he’s  holding himself back  because there’s a difference between tough love and beating a dead horse,   and he’s not sure where on the spectrum it would fall but it feels more like the latter.    at least while she’s still  drunk.    (   he’s not an idiot.    knows from experience that trying to reason with someone in this state doesn’t yield positive results ;   he  was that someone.   )}

_{‘     second thoughts about keepin’ your skinny ass outta foster care ?    hell  no.     ’}

_{it’s not just that,   but his answer would be the same either way.    reassuring,   almost,   to feel like he’s finally making the right call about  something.}

_{‘     two years ain’t nothin’.    had a jar of peanut butter sittin’ up in my dojo for longer than that.     ’}

_{there’s a difference between coping and defense mechanisms too,  and she’s gotten her wires crossed trying to  protect herself  from the trauma rather than  deal  with it.    five stages of grief,  five stages of emotional bullshit she has to wade through like quicksand.    likes to think she’s reached the acceptance stage but she  hasn’t.    not with a bottle of malt liquor in her hand every night.    she’ll get there.}

_{the way he says  foster care  reminds her of that night at seattle’s police station    (    before i bury your ass so deep in the foster care system,  you’ll never get out    )    and she almost says something,  almost  unburies  that hatchet just out of spite.    but it’s not worth it.}

_{if the roles were  reversed,  would she not have acted the same ?}

_{“     think i ate some of that.    either the label was wrong or smooth peanut butter goes  crunchy  after it expires.     ”}

_{talking about food makes the nausea worse.    the cigarette held between index and middle finger trembles and so do her hands.    she’s staring down at the bottle and contemplating whether to pussy out when the  bile  pitches into her throat without warning.    body twists in a lean,  booze and stomach acid and whatever was left over from her last meal spilling out onto the concrete.}

adatrox    _{*  raynne.}

      dishevelment plays an easy pair to the slow curl of her attention, set only briefly on the speaker.   ‘   no, love, sorry                                 i wasn’t listening.   ’

_{scoffs.    pushes up the sleeve that droops to her wrist and rolls her eyes.     “     forget it,  yo.    doesn’t matter.     ”}

capturebond    _{*  kendall.}

           abigail never felt one way about horror movies. they had a habit of being disappointing and abigail can’t stand watching something bad just for the sake of it. what a waste of time. it’s still not really a lie when she says,  ‘ i, uh. used to. ’  there’s something so stomach churning about watching people kill other people on purpose when you know what it’s really like.

used to.    that’s not cryptic at all.     “     thought since it’s almost halloween,  ‘n scary movies are like  …  the shizz this month   –––     ”     before everyone throws decorations in your face and wishes you  happy holidays.    she’ll take gallons of  corn syrup  and red food colouring to holiday cheer,  even if they’re both artificial.

originalgrilla    _{*  bugs.}

_{‘     watch y’self,   li’l man.    you gonna be surfin’ through four channels on basic cable if you ain’t careful.     ’       not really.    (   like he’d ever be the one who deprives her of  animal planet.   )    brows raise in mock offense.       ‘     oh,   what,   you think i’m frontin’ ?    alright.    but lemme ask you this    —    when’s the last time  your  lady went home satisfied,   huh ?     ’}

_{“     oh,  quit trippin’.    you know better’n that.     ”     bullet wouldn’t  shut up  about it on principle.    her manipulation tactics are truly an art form.     “     t’cht.    ain’t got a lady t’ send home satisfied.    don’t need one,  either !    you’re the one who ain’t gettin’ any younger,  bugs.    fo’ rilla.     ”}

“     you like scary movies ?     ”     breaking the silence with no warning.    she isn’t good at this   –––   the in - between stages.    acquaintanceship to friendship.    but kendall has the kind of face that makes her  want  to be.    not in the weird way,  but in the  not desperate for companionship or at least i don’t think i am but i wouldn’t mind getting to know you regardless  way.     //  @capturebond

skintheft    _{*  cody.}

           it crosses the entire length of the apartment without looking at bullet, preoccupied by the state of its shirt, and digs its hands into clothes that aren’t its to find something to steal. it changes into a button up, found smooth and folded.  ‘ and who they messin with? ’

finds what she was looking for    (    among a lot of things she wasn’t    )    and sparks the flame,  pulling the joint from behind her ear to light.     “     someone that’ll  bury  their stupid asses.     ”     it hits  smooth,  and she gives the smoke time to settle in her lungs before exhaling.     “     you ever been in a fight ?    a real one.    ain’t talkin’ ‘bout no cat fight,  but actually  throwin’  hands.     ”

envisas    _{*  tyrell.}

          tyrell heaves out a sigh and steps around her, inside, making a beeline for the coffee machine. irritably, he stabs at some buttons, leans against the counter while he’s waiting for it to heat up.  ‘ i’m elliot’s boyfriend. i’m assuming he didn’t tell you about me. ’

he didn’t.     she doesn’t even  try  to be conscientious about the look she’s serving him.    skepticism with a dash of good old fashioned,  childish  contempt.     “     didn’t come up.    probably ‘cause you’re a real fuckin’ prick.     ”