Closed - For @divinctions // Milani Location - Secondhand Style

she chuckles at the knight and shining armor comment. salem's not really sure how to act around birdie now. typically she'd try to play it cool and be flirty but subtle about it but she would be lying if she said she wasn't already pretty down bad for the other. "well --i'll just tell her buying it was my lame attempt at trying to spend more time with her cousin. she can't be disappointed in that." she replied with a smirk before scanning over the selection of plants. "you mean the swiss cheese plant? a monstera would actually be perfect for you." she took a moment to glance over at the other before quickly looking back at the plants. "it's super easy to care for plus with my help there isn't any possible way you could really murder it. since i'll be over to water it and stuff you'll have like maybe twenty-percent responsibility." try to relax salem she thought to herself. soemthing had to be done to break the awkward tension between the two.

                ꒰ა   ♡  ໒꒱  --—  ‘  if  it’s  for  you  ‘  rings  in  birdie’s  ears  and  they  feel  like  hiding  behind  the  huge  pot  in  front  of  them.  their  face  heats  up,  right  up  to  their  ears,  and  for  a  second  they’re  grateful  salem  can’t  really  tell.  “  awww,  for  me  ?  my  knight  in  shining  armor.  —  nah,  it’s  fine,  avivas  not  that  scary  when  she’s  mad.  more  like,  kind  of  hurtful  because  you  can  tell  she’s  disappointed  and  exasperated,  you  know  ?  “  they’re  rambling  a  bit,  which  is  normal,  but  —  well,  she’s  overthinking  everything  she’s  doing  right  now.  they’re  not  used  to  being  so  nervous  around  salem,  but  it  may  be  their  new  normal.  hands  on  her  hips  she  nods,  scanning  the  plants  in  front  of  them,  “  we  could  get  a  palm  tree  —  no,  too  big.  not  an  inside  plant.  want  one  of  the  huge  monsteras  ?  “  much  better.

"we've been separated for so long i forgot about how bad of an influence you could be on me, mal." salem smirked while grabbing her bag and rummaging through it before retrieving a flask. as teens the two were a public relations nightmare together but salem always felt like mallory accepted her for exactly who she was. despite salem being so reckless at times when they were younger their friendship ended up surviving the test of time. "i filled this up before i left in case there was only wine at this thing. i hope you still love tequila."

taking a sip from the flask salem passed it over to mallory soon after. "you have a point, i guess this isn't the setting for everyone to be in their feelings but i'll definitely take the private show." salem teased. at the mention of leon's name she smiled for a moment and shrugged slightly. "we've never been described as disgustingly cute, more like a tad dysfunctional but i'll take it." the two had been a lot better lately and salem was trying her best to make sure things stayed that way. "honestly? i really didn't think i could either. i even ended things twice but i guess when you know you know. he's also been super patient through my bullshit." her interest suddenly peaked on mallory's romantic life. "speaking of significant others who's your current victim?"

"Don't tell me you're thinking of tapping out this early. The Salem I know would keep going until we're shitfaced." Mallory answers with a pout. She needed the liquid courage seeing as it was her first performance in months. Truth is, Mal already had a bit to drink before she came to the festival. But a little more alcohol never hurt, right? Reconnecting with Salem after years apart brings a sense of nostalgia and comfort to Mallory. It takes her back to the good memories she had back in then. "Salem, baby," she says, taking a second to down her drink before continuing. "Do you know how difficult it is to choose which songs to perform? I wanted to sing 'Tummy Hurts' and 'Snow Angel' back to back, but then I thought, 'this is too sad for the festival'. I want people to shake their asses and have a good time, y'know?" "But I can give you a private show…but I don't think Leon would like that," Mal adds with a chuckle. "Speaking of, you two are disgustingly cute, you know that? I swear, I could never do that."

"i know! i've been such a hermit lately and i'm sure if my cat could talk she would yell at me to get out of the house." salem joked before shaking her head. "not really busy, just kind of trying to kill time and jot a few things down." she nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. "i figured i should actually be around other people you know? if anything i was bound to run into someone i knew here and i was right!" she gave arin a small smile while closing the journal and moving it aside. "but anyways what are you up to today? how have you been?"

he's here playing errand boy. picking up ... something, for his mom. not entirely sure what, or what for — just that it's not ready yet and he's got some time to kill. he gets himself a cup of coffee and sits himself at a table near the edge of the room, ready to just waste time on his phone when he hears her speak. don't need to invite him twice. "long time no see," slide into the chair across from the one she's seated in, making an all too obvious show of peering at her book on his way. as if he has any real prayer of being able to read anyone's handwriting upside down like that. "busy? what are you working on?"

"you can never have too many crops! i practically live in them when the weather is warmer plus you can make them work with almost anything." salem nodded in agreement. it was typically the most normal day to day things like a shopping trip with a friend that made her feel content. though she was slightly distracted from her own personal relationship drama she truly was enjoying astrids company. "a crop top with low rise jeans and a faux fur coat is very it girl of you...look at you turning into an insta baddie on me!" she let out a giggle at the thought. "actually, i think it's criminal we have to do brat summer in the freezing cold but props to you for keeping it alive." salem could feel astrid's slight judgement from the sweaters but she couldn't blame her. truthfully she needed to put something slutty on and hit the club. "it's just leon he'll be fine." she replied dismissively before changing the subject. "this is more important anyways. i should ditch the sweaters shouldn't i?"

                 ⋆.˚ ❝  ok…  on-trend  is  always  a  plus..  i  don’t  know..  i’m  already  pretty  fond  of  crops  —  my  ass  does  look  great  though.  ❞  she  trusts  salem’s  taste,  it  was  impossible  not  to  when  the  woman  looked  and  dressed  as  well  as  she  did.  with  one  that  spent  most  time  prioritizing  comfort  over  necessarily  looking  her  best  these  trips  always  felt  just  a  bit  wasted  on  astrid  but  she  did  love  finding  club  outfits  that  toed  the  line  of  being  just  a  bit  too  much.  was  this  so  different?  it  was  just  a  little  brighter  out.  ❝  y’know  what  !  screw  it.  i’m  getting  these  jeans  if  nothing  else  these  would  kill  at  the  club.  a  faux  fur  coat…  i  just  got  this  new  crop  that’s  practically  a  bra  at  this  point…  i’ve  been  streaming  365.  whatever  !  ❞  she  tosses  a  shrug  at  salem,  grabbing  the  additional  pants  hanging  in  the  changing  room  and  shuffling  out  as  she  riffled  through  the  clothes  she’d  already  tried  on  —  picking  among  the  tops  she  was  surely  going  to  keep;  her  eyes  falling  on  salem’s  collection.  ❝  ok  your  turn  !  what  are  we  looking  at…  are  those  all  sweaters  ?  and  please  feel  free  to  pick  up,  well  unless  it  was  a  scammer  i  guess.  ❞ ─ ✶⋆.˚

salem frowned a bit when noticing the grape juice splatter all over his shirt. poor drew was kind of a mess at the moment and she couldn't help but laugh a bit. after drew spewed out his rapid fire questions salem stood up while offering a helping hand. "depends on the vampire film. obviously yes to queen of the damned. i think a shirtless vampire in leather pants that became rockstar is such a realistic storyline." she continued on after helping drew up. "the original fright night is great also, though i don't think you're a twilight guy if we're getting a little more modern." she didn't' really see drew as team edward or jacob. "i love kettle corn but i've never had the sriracha. if you hate it maybe your roommate may like it."

drew sits up and accepts the napkins, thanking salem as he begins to scrub the stickiness off of his hands. he waves a dismissive hand in response to her question, though it's with a grimace as he notices the fresh stain on his shirt ( boldly proclaiming him ' corpse of the month at family fun funeral home ' although with the grape juice splattered all over the front it looks like he's just some lame-o corpse with no special superlative ). "being immortal renders one immune to death," he points out, "not the tilt - a - whirl. do we need to have a vampire movie marathon ? do you like kettle corn ? do you want any flavoring for it ? did you know they make flavoring for kettle corn ? i have spicy sriracha at home, but i haven't tried it yet because what if it's too spicy ? have you ever tried it ? " it isn't until after posing his last question that he affords salem any time to answer him.

status: closed for @alkaliineee // solana

salem beamed as she strolled through the vineyard with solana. she couldn't contain her enthusiasm as the two picked grapes and placed them in the basket. "i'm super excited for this, can you believe i've never done a wine tasting before either?" she said to the other. grape picking and creating your own wine was completely different from salem's typical idea of fun but she was quickly starting to adapt to trying new things while living in valpo. "please don't roast me too hard on how little i know about it all." she said a bit embarrassed. "my parents are more of the whiskey in a dive bar types than wine sipping on a vineyard you know?"

the last couple of hours between the two had been spent sharing laughter and chaotically figuring out hair and makeup options. salem hadn't been out partying since becoming newly single. going to club divine with leia was the perfect remedy for getting back into the swing of normalcy. after going through what seemed like every outfit in her closet she finally settled on a dress she'd come across at secondhand style. it was just short enough to make her feel good about herself without feeling like she was doing too much. she looked over at leia and have her a reassuring nod. "you look amazing! i don't think it's too much. plus blush tends to disappear after like an hour anyways." she said with an enthusiastic grin. "but you should do a little extra highlight." salem added a final touch of lipgloss and turned to the other. "we're definitely going to be the cutest duo. we need to take lots of pictures tonight too. we look to way too good to not be seen online."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀໑ ⠀ closed stater for @cybermuses ! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀໑ ⠀ location ⌲ salem's apartment.

⠀⠀⠀⠀it was finally the weekend , and leia and salem had agreed to head over to club divine to enjoy a much - needed night to let loose . she had made her way over to salem's about two hours ago and they were still getting ready , as leia was not one to be satisfied with her outfit until it was perfect . the girls were yapping about anything and everything that came to mind , salem's spotify playing on shuffle in the background for the perfect getting ready vibe . ❝ does this look okay ? not too much ? ❞ she asked , as if she wasn't still blending more blush on her face . ❝ maybe it'll look okay in the low - light indoors . . . ❞ she muttered , finally putting the brush down . her eyes moved over to the other , her gaze admiring how pretty salem looked . ❝ i think we're gonna be the cutest duo there tonight . ❞

salem shook her head in disagreement at mallory's statement. "you're the furthest from either of those things." she said with a smile as the other sat from across her. she was typically pretty understanding when it came to the people in her life being busy and knew if she really needed to speak to someone mallory would be there in a heartbeat. truthfully salem had just been closed off from everyone around her recently. "please don't apologize, seriously." placing her hand over mallory's for a second to reassure her everything was okay. "honestly? i've been in my own little bubble with stevie just writing music and reflecting the disaster that was my relationship." salem said with a chuckle at the last part. "but i really am okay. how are you doing? please catch me up on everything."

"I'm a shit person and an even shittier friend," Mallory said as she approached Salem. There were only a handful of people in Valparaíso she truly cared about, and Salem was definitely one of them, along with Esme, Al, Drew, and occasionally Enzo. Mallory felt a pang of guilt as she looked at Salem, realizing how much she had missed her friend's company. It weighed heavily on her conscience that she hadn't been there when Salem needed her, especially considering their long history together. "I'm sorry, Salem, baby," The blonde pouted as she pulled out the seat across from her and sat down. "I should have reached out sooner. I've been caught up in my own world and didn't even bother checking up on you." She paused, her expression softening with sincerity. "But I'm here now, how can I make it up to you?"

@hecticlife

Cousin Cousine, 1975

Kiana Ledé