"i Figured Maybe We Could Just Hang Out Like We Used To. I Also Have This Song I've Been Working On And

salem grabbed the flowers and started cutting the stems as leon spoke preparing them to go in the vase. they were beautiful and normally something so simple would make her feel like the happiest girl in the world but the longer she looked at them the sadder she got about things all over again. his comment threw her off for a moment and the most she could manage to reply with was a chuckle at first. how was she supposed to respond to that anyways? "well, i've been here and i haven't left so i'm not sure why it's so weird for you without me. shouldn't be the other way around?" the words blurted out of her mouth without a second thought. it was probably a bit harsh but it was the truth. before she could respond to his question he ripped the band-aid off for the both of them and decided to address the elephant in the room. she nodded as she placed the flowers in the vase and looked over at him. "you're right, we should talk about things. i'd love to know what you're doing here and why you've suddenly just barrelled back into my life like things didn't end the way they did. it better be one hell of an explanation too." things were different this time. her guard was way up with him.

leon chuckles at her teasing, he'd missed her so fucking much. "they're no pastel de choclo, but i figured you'd like them better," he attempts to lighten the tension that's building between them. it could easily be cut with a knife. after salem starts small talk, leon twists his lips out of nervous habit. "it's been fine. not the same without you." it's actually been weird as fuck. he doesn't feel as connected to the city as he used to. adjusting back to the valpo lifestyle has been complicated, especially because he's really tight on money right now, and everything's even more expensive than before he left. oh right, and the weird feeling of not being cooped up in a house with his grandma and his teetering-on-alcoholic mother. "you?" leon huffs out the word, but clearly he'd rather talk about the elephant in the room right now. "actually, listen, i'm really so fucking sorry, sal. can we sit down and talk about it? please." he doesn't expect the conversation to bring everything back to normal. she has all the right to not trust him right now. he knows he fucked up. he didn't mean to tho. leon loves the woman standing in front of him with all his messed up heart. it beats faster as the words roll out of his mouth. he wonders if she can hear it.

the reaction didn't surprise her but salem couldn't help but laugh at her response. "milani stop!" she said before playfully rolling her eyes. "not too much okay? he's actually great. i'm just starting to feel like he may be better off without me and my bullshit." salem didn't have the best track record with men, her last relationship was an absolute dumpster fire. traumatizing would be an understatement. "this is going to disgust you but i'm actually so in love with him it makes me want to run away from him you know?" it sounded crazy but it was the truth. she flashed milani a smile at her compliment, "you're sweet. i'm not even sure if i'm in the place to hook up with anyone truthfully but it may be nice to meet some new people while im here."

               those   were   always   such   great   words   to   start   a   conversation.   milani   wished   she   was   sitting   in   a   swivel   chair   so   that   her   turn   towards   salem   had   a   much   more   ominous   affect.   she   settled   for   clutching   her   luke   warm   cup   of   coffee   up   to   her   chest   as   she   watched   salem.   milani   didn't   even   need   to   hear   the   rest   of   the   question   to   give   out   her   very   sound,   thought   out,   and   unbiased   opinion:   "   HELL   yes.   "   there   was   plenty   of   emphasis   on   the   hell.   "   are   you   joking   ?   easiest   answer   i   ever   could've   given.   i   never   understood   what   you   saw   in   him.   or   why.   just   know   that   you   should   get   out   while   you   can.   "   she   concluded,   eyeing   the   dress.   "   honestly   ?   you   could   walk   into   divine   in   a   trash   bag   and   hooves   and   still   get   attention   with   a   face   card   like   yours.   "   milani   said,   playfully   taking   salem's   chin   between   her   thumb   and   index   finger   for   a   brief   moment.   "   but   i   would   go   for   something   shorter   and   boobier.   "

"okay, we can talk about it tomorrow." she said quietly while quickly wiping the tears from her eyes. salem watched leon as he walked out of the living room before shutting the light off. her mind was racing for what felt like hours. she couldn't sleep and for some weird reason, maybe out of habit, found herself knocking on the bedroom door. "can i come lay with you?" she asked after peaking her head in the door. leon was half asleep and told her to come in. salem crawled into bed with him and cuddled up against him. it was comforting to be this close to him again and all she wanted was for things to go back to normal. "im so sorry for how much i've hurt you." she wasn't sure if he was awake or not but she needed to get it off her chest. "i don't want things to end and how much i love you actually terrifies me. but i don't know how to be the person you deserve..." she turned to him and realized he was sound asleep. salem ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead gently. she turned back around to cuddle against him before eventually falling asleep.

when morning rolled around salem was woken up by the sunlight peaking through the curtains. she looked around the room and then over to leon who was still sleeping. her hangover was raging and the thought of the inevitable talk they were supposed to have made her stomach turn. she got up out of bed and quietly tiptoed out of the bedroom slowly closing the door. leaving this way probably wasn't the best decision but she felt like there wasn't much left for her to say anyways and she truly was tired of hurting him and that's what the end result would be anyways. so she grabbed her shoes and her bag and left the apartment.

this is too much. he hates seeing her so heartbroken. absolutely destroys him. but at the end of the day, he really can't be just a punching bag. he has a lot to think about. "i can't do this right now," he looks down at her with tears bubbling in his eyes. the fact that she can't promise not to break his heart again, it kills him. and he wants to trust her. they both bring so much baggage into this relationship. but he sees himself in her, and it really feels like she's the only one who understands him. the only one for him. she's his soulmate. "i'm going to bed," the man says. he presses one hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her in somehow. "the bathroom's that way and the kitchen's stocked. we'll continue this tomorrow, okay?" it fucking hurts to pull his hand away, and it hurts even more to leave her in the living room as he goes to the master bedroom. he just wants to hold her, fuck her, make her feel good and trust her to not fuck him up again. is that really possible? leon takes off his shirt and climbs into bed with just sweatpants. he scrolls through his phone for a few minutes, but he can't concentrate on anything. so, he switches off the light of the lamp on his nightstand and tries to sleep.

she playfully rolled her eyes at her friends response. salem couldn't comprehend anyone getting used to being in such unique place, even when she would go visit new orleans she always found something new to be in awe over. "if this is boring you we can do something else? seriously i'll sacrifice the rest of the day hear more of your dungeons and dragons lore." she teased with a playful nudge. "or i could find us a matching bracelet or necklace to solidify our friendship. with all this cool handmade jewelry there's bound to be something. unfortunately for you im cheesy like that."

             the  happy  amusement  on  birdie's  face  is  evident.  her  face  breaks  into  a  bright  smile  when  salem  speaks  to  her,  eyes  scanning  the  bags  she's  presented  with.  birdie  loves  to  see  people  excited  about  chile,  their  heart  bursting  at  the  thought  of  people  loving  their  home  as  much  as  they  do.  she  shakes  her  head,  accompanying  it  with  a  wave  of  the  hand,  "  nah,  be  as  tourist-y  as  you  want,  i  love  it  – i  am  excited  ! "  they  laugh,  "  i've  lived  here  forever ! i  don't  get  as  excited  as  i  did  when  it  was  all  new,  it  happens.  "

salem let out a small chuckle and shook her head. "i promise it's okay, don't apologize. if i could i'd find a way to bring the band to you." luna's disappointment was valid despite whatever salem had going on. she shrugged a bit at the question. things were weird at the moment between her and leon and it was particularly hard to put into words why. "honestly? things are kinda just...up in the air at the moment i guess?" ( if that's what you would refer to hookups and constant bickering with your ex as anyways ) despite being the one that ended things in a moment of distress she deeply regretted it but had the feeling she'd done enough damage in the relationship. "you'd have to make a salem voodoo doll if that's the case. i'm sad to admit that i'm the fuck up in this relationship and this is now the second time that i left him because i'm just allergic to stability apparently."

               at   the   mention   of   the   way   salem's   life   was   progressing,   luna   felt   immediate   guilt   for   her   pouting.   luna   had   only   been   separated   from   drew   for   a   few   months   and   the   entire   world   felt   like   it   was   coming   to   end;   and   they   hadn't   even   been   together   that   long   before   the   break   up.   leon   had   told   luna   was   that   he   was   going   to   propose.   that   kind   of   unimaginable   love   had   to   come   with   some   unimaginable   pain,   and   there   they   were   moping   about   a   band.   "   i   don't   need   it   more   than   you,   i'm   sorry.   "   luna   conceded,   pushing   salem's   hand   that   held   the   necklace   into   salem's   chest.   "   i'm   just   more   dramatic   than   you.   "   luna   was   probably   more   dramatic   than   the   entire   valparaíso   region,   but   they   didn't   want   to   think   about   that.   "   how   are   you   holding   up   ?   all   things   considered.   do   you   wanna   talk   about   it   ?   i   have   some   voodoo   dolls   i   can   die   the   hair   a   blonde   color   and   you   can   really   let   your   anger   out.   it   really   works.   "   luna   knew   from   experience.

salem cleared some space on the table for him and shook her head. "you weren't interrupting at all! i'm never going to say no to having someone keep me company." she replied with a reassuring smile. "a true artist? that's new....i've never gotten that before but i'll take it." she let out a small chuckle. her definition of a true artist was someone like her personal hero stevie nicks. "not so much a masterpiece, more so a recording schedule and a lot of boring details i have to jot down for this album. i did start writing a song earlier though so i guess we can call that little bit a masterpiece." salem closed the journal to focus on the other. she'd seen taj around before and knew of him but never really had the chance to actually interact with him. "i'm salem by the way. but besides the smoothie what have you been up to so far today? "

taj had hardly left the house in general anyway. between training for his fights as if he was about to be the next coming of rocky by getting up at 2AM and jogging to crashing around 12PM midday for only 1hour close to 2, taj didn't have the most steady of sleep schedules. it was a big part of why he didn't have many friends since moving three years ago. he made the best of his off days, when he knew he didn't have any fights scheduled and tore away from his two bedroom apartment in spite of temptation. he had ended up wondering about almost like a little puppy in search of adventure and found himself at casablnca blooms and coffee. he was actually trying not to be too obvious glancing towards the beauty in the corner just scribbling away in her notepad. he was so bad at approaching people that if she hadn't suggested for him to join her, he probably would've missed the opportunity. taj was a lot of things, shy was around the 20th of them. he got up trying to remain casual and seem not to eager that someone had noticed him instead of blending in with the dozens of faces. the smoothie in his right hand, he slid into the booth across from her. "I didn't want to interrupt a true artist at her work," he smiled nodding at her journal. "creating a masterpiece in there?"

as salem plucked a few grapes off the vine she chuckled at solana. the age difference between the two of them seemed to slip her mind until it was mentioned. solana always reminded salem of a big sister no more than a few years older than herself. "you talk as if you're like....prehistoric babe. you're still pretty young. there's no real reason why you can't go on a bar crawl with me or be backstage at a concert." giving the other a playful nudge. she didn't have many older friends but it was refreshing to be around new people with different hobbies than hers. "i'm just now getting into it really and the most i know is that i hate those dry bitter red wines." she scrunches her face up at the thought. "i just don't have the taste palette for it honestly. whats your favorite?"

the joy radiating off of salem was infectious, and the slight ache in solana's cheeks from smiling so much was proof of that. " oh, super believable. " the comment accompanied by a soft bout of laughter. " now don't get me wrong, that's not a dig about who you are as a person. " she told her, plucking a few more grapes from the vine before tossing them into her basket. " you're young, there are way more fun things to do at your age. " truthfully, she would have been more surprised if she was a wine connoisseur. " i know i didn't do my first wine tasting until i was at least your ago. i just didn't have the palate for it back then. " now having a glass at the end of a long day was one of sol's preferred ways to unwind. at the admission, she rested a hand on salem's forearm, giving her a faint shake of her head. " i would never. "

to say salem was surprised when rohan offered to give her a ride from the airport would be an understatement. the two weren’t exactly best friends ( and the thought that they were becoming friends made her shudder a bit ) but salem had a theory that he was trying to worm his way into getting one of those vintage guitars they spoke of. with her bags in hand she made her way to the pick up area and eyed rohan with his book in hand. “pretending to read at the airport to pick up girls is wild.” she said while approaching the other. the two didn’t really know how to have a normal conversation that didn’t invole insulting one another. salem rolled her eyes at his comment as she placed her bags down next to her. maybe taking an uber would have been a better idea. “i don’t always look judgemental, you just do a really great job at irritating me. you think your face was the first one i wanted to see after a ten hour flight?” she replied matter of factly as she made her way to the backseat window to quickly peak in at stevie who she missed terribly. “be gentle with my luggage, it costs more than your little boat by the way.” her hand gensturing towards the bags while turning back to face rohan. 

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closed  starter  for  SALEM  (  @cybermuses  ) location  :  airport  ?  ✈️

-ˋˏ ‏‏‎ ‎꒰ ‏‏‎ ‎🐚 ‏‏‎ ‎꒱‏‏‎ ‎ ──‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎the  sound  of  luggage  wheels  on  the  pavement  causes  rohan  to  look  up  from  where  he's  leaning  against  his  truck,  and  almost  immediately  he  snaps  the  worn  paperback  in  his  hands  shut,  tucking  it  under  his  arm.  he's  not  a  bad  person,  see.  rohan's  world  runs  on  favours  ;  he  might  have  sworn  off  the  idea  of  personal  friendships,  but  favours  ?  he  could  argue  to  himself  that  favours  were  simply  an  investment  in  good  will  because  he  might  need  to  cash  them  in  one  day──‏‏‎   even  if  he  had  to  be  delusional  to  think  that  it  wasn't  obvious  he  had developed something bordering on friendship with the woman  who  had,  if  you  asked  him,  kidnapped  his  cat  into  forced  marriage.  "  sorry,  i'm  not  doing  charity  work  ;  the  taxis  are  over  there,  "  he  informs  her  playfully  (  or,  as  playful  as  rohan  can  get  )  gesturing  her  away.  it's  the  closest  to  a  real  greeting  salem  is  going  to  get,  even  if  he  was  the  one  to  offer  to  pick  her  up  in  the  first  place.  "  i'm  waiting  for  someone.  you  might  have  seen  her  ?  about  this  tall──‏‏‎   "  he  holds  his  palm  flat  in  the  air  in  front  of  him,  "  ──‏‏‎ curly  hair,  always  has  this  look  on  her  face  like  she's  judging  you.  .  .  ?  her  cat  is  in  my  car  and,  much  like  her,  has  an  attitude  problem.  "

KIANA LEDÉ via instagram

status: closed for @skidemark // aviva

between the glue and the popsicle sticks salem had a giant mess of a pile sitting in front of her that was supposed to resemble a small house. building one out of miscellaneous items seemed like a fun idea at first but salem quickly realized she wasn't as crafty as she thought she was. "fuck it, i'm officially giving up on this. we can just say my home was demolished." she threw her hands up in defeat and let out a small chuckle. looking over at aviva curiously she noticed the other was hyper focused on her own project. "please tell me yours is going better than mine did?"