"you Mean To Tell Me This Entire Time I Didn't Have To Pay You To Get Encouraging Words From You?" Salem

@hecticlife

Cousin Cousine, 1975

it was the perfect night to be at club divine. between the place being packed out and the guest dj this had been one of the best nights in a while. salem met up with a couple of people at the club in vip and did some mingling amongst the busy crowd once she got bored of that. moving her way through the dance floor to the bar was a mission in itself, one too many drinks starting to get the best of her. a sigh of relief fell from her lips when she finally made it through. as salem waited patiently for the bartender to get to her the stranger a couple feet away caught her attention. "rum and coke please?" she said loudly over the blaring music while moving closer to the other. god knows she didn't need another drink but she was determined to let loose tonight. the face wasn't a familiar one and salem wondered if he was new to the area. it was a hard for her to believe she'd been here as long as she had been. "pretty good actually, i met up with a bunch of people here and they ended up meeting with other people so i guess you can say they kinda ditched me in a sense. or maybe i ditched them." she paused for a moment upon realizing she was rambling to a complete stranger. "but what about yours? are you here alone?"

Starter: Open [4 cap] @valpostart Location: Club Divine

The entire plan of moving him early to Chile had been his father’s and for once in his entire life Gael could not have agreed more. The moment he found out how far from home he’s be hr jumped at the opportunity. Went as far as looking into hotels and car dealerships himself to get everything situated before making the move. He didn’t pack his own clothing, or move it himself but that’s what employees were for. After years and years of doing shit himself he was more than happy to pass the boring stuff off to someone else. He was doing them a favor if he really thought about it, it wasn’t like their pay wouldn’t show out a smile on their face in the end.

He had originally wanted to reserve the VIP room but figured perhaps if he met a group of interesting enough people to take back there then he’d go for it. For the time being he enjoyed all that the club had to offer from the bar. The night was still young, and he had heard of some great amenities about that particular place.

Gael found himself moving between the dance floor and the bar, having one of the best night’s he’s had in a long time. No work to stress over for months to come, no sister, and most important no father to ruin his mood. “Can I get an amaretto sour.” He called out to the bartender as he reached the bar then glanced to the side at the person sitting, “And whatever they’re having. On me.” Gael turned his body towards the crowd and rested his back against the bar. “How’s your night coming along?”

"i'm sure we can find you something! if it's a total bust i'll buy you lunch." salem said reassuringly with a smile. as the two strolled along the market salem nodded at the mention of the group. "i'm not sure if im ready to partake in an actual group thing it seems intimidating you know? i kind of just get really bored and i start doing stuff." dungeons and dragons was probably the most mundane thing she'd been into lately but it was better than any of the chaotic alternatives. "originally? new orleans but i pretty much grew up between there and new york. my parents could never stay still and with the tv show we traveled a lot." it was refreshing to talk to someone who didn't already know much about her. "but i know drew from new york actually. we'd randomly run into each other when our parents would drag us to industry things. seems like the nepo baby pool in valpo is a big one."

she kind of feels a twinge of guilt at the pit of her stomach at the idea of going somewhere else. if salem was enjoying it, they can stay. it's not like it's a big deal — she'll find something of interest eventually. she always does. "no, it's fine. there is some cool stuff here — and we haven't even explored the whole thing." she continues to walk, aviva's head shaking at the mention of her cousin. somehow, that's very on par the birdie, and she didn't know what else she expected. "there's a group around here – i've heard about it, but i've never been. maybe you should ask drew?" is drew the one who does it? no idea, but it seems like something he'd like. or maybe because it doesn't have a ghostface mask .. maybe not. "where are you from, again?"

"listen, i can respect the culture but not necessarily want to partake in it okay?" salem responded with a chuckle. "plus i don't care what science says, no amount of alcohol can kill the fact that literal feet were in there." despite the gross display in front of her salem gave birdie a nod in agreement to more wine. maybe it was her buzz or just the fact that she was in birdies company but salem didn't think she'd be enjoying herself this much at a winery. "as long as it's not any of that dry and bitter stuff we tried earlier. merlot was it? way too mature for me, i want something a little more on the sweet side."

" it's grape-treading, salem. it's culture. " birdie says it in a very over-dramatic, matter-of-fact tone, clicking their tongue, " and i don't think any icky foot bacteria can survive during the wine-making process. with all the alcohol and stuff. and they use wine presses now, duh. " a pause, eyes watching the people in front of them stomp away at the grapes in a large barrel. is that a barrel ? trough, maybe ? " that being said, that looks like a textural nightmare, so we're not doing it. more wine, maybe ? " of the not-food variety.

status: open @valpostart location: cerro barrón street market

"i love this place, i absolutely love it." salem said enthusiastically to the other while holding up her bag of treasures. she'd spent most of the morning at the street market shopping around for things to put in her temporary place in viña del mar to make it feel a little more like a home to her. to no surprise though she mostly purchased jewelry and a few articles of clothing for herself. "i know i'm probably going overboard and i look like such a fucking tourist but i'm a sucker for hand made things. why aren't you as excited as i am?" she said slightly offended the other wasn't sharing her excitement.

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.

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.  "

"well paying for it wasn't really apart of the plan. i just figured i could like...subtly walk out with one you know?" it was technically stealing but salem saw it as rescuing a stray animal. "i'm gonna be honest but i don't even know where the owner is. you notice how empty it is in here? they probably wouldn't even realize if i took one." salem teased while rubbing the chin of a grey tabby that jumped into her lap. "let me buy you a coffee first and we can discuss theft afterwards. its the least i could do for dragging you along."

without a beat, her infamous catchphrase comes out as soon as she hears salem. "why not? i mean if you pay for it, that shouldn't be a problem, no?" jackie has no idea if any of these cats are for purchase, but she believes when there's a will there's a way, and if not, she's pretty sure they could work something out. "i guess you can talk to the owner about it or something," she suggests, a playful smile toying on her lips when an idea suddenly pops into her head. "or don't. it's not like you can get arrested for stealing a cat," then a pause. "can you?" she's unsure. well, now that the realization begins to hit her, maybe they should just abort that mission. "you did say you want to pay for it. i think that works."

salem wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings due to being too preoccupied with scrolling on instagram. suddenly she felt someone crash into her, knocking her phone out of her hand. "shit!" she exclaimed while quickly retrieving her phone off the ground before looking over at the other, realizing it was drew on the floor. "oh god...are you okay? here take these." crouching down she handed him a couple of napkins for the drink spill. she couldn't help but laugh a bit. "immortal? but you can't handle a simple festival ride? seems like that theory has just been debunked."

open starter / @valpostart location / la fiesta de vendimia

still unsteady from his third go around the tilt - a - whirl, drew stands in front of a stall selling what smells like food, but he won't be able to confirm that until his vision returns to normal. he tries to take a sip from his tall cup of grape juice, but his aim is off so he jams the straw up his nostril. his violent recoil ( combined with the wooziness which still plagues him ) knocks drew backward, causing a collision with another festivalgoer and spilling his drink everywhere. "sorry," drew groans, sitting on the ground as he rubs his spinning head. "i'm feeling a little ... " he splays his arms out above his head, waving them around wildly. " ... you know ? three rides in the tilt - a - whirl will do that to a person. even a suspected immortal such as myself."

in a split second the two went from arguing to kissing one another. she gave in immediately, her fingers running through his hair as she kissed him back hungrily. salem wanted him badly and was almost immediately turned on by the feelings of his hand spanking her. it had been what seemed like forever since the two of them were able to touch one another and salem hadn't been with anyone else since splitting from leon about a month ago. she missed him terribly even if she wasn't willing to admit it out loud. as he pulled back she looked up at him in a daze and nodded with a smirk, his hair was messy and her lipstick was all over his mouth. "of course i'm going to let you." hooking up probably wasn't the best idea but she was so drawn to him (since the day they'd met) and it had been so hard to stay away every time. "god you're so insatiable." as she felt leon press up against her she bit down on her bottom lip, her mouth immediately opening at his demand. "are we really going to do this here? what if someone catches us?"

leon rests both hands on the wall, one on either side of her head. he listens to her words, but he doesn't want to hear them. so, the second she stops talking, the man grabs her face and kisses her. lips pressed against her own, biting and sucking and kissing her as if the world's gonna end. "you really like making me mad, don't you girl?" he smirks as one of his hands travel down to her ass and he spanks it. "what is it gonna be, huh?" he pulls away for a moment. her lipstick's all smeared and he knows he has the same color around his mouth. god he missed kissing the shit out of her. "are you gonna stop this nonsense and let me fuck you?" before salem can answer, the man presses his body against hers, letting her knows he's already turned on. he doesn't really know how it works, but seeing salem flirting with someone else really messed with him. because there's no way in hell someone else can make her feel as good as he does. "open," he demands as he pushes his thumb between her lips. "be a good girl and i might let you cum."