Arlovasquez‌:

what's it like being back in the city?

“It’s starting to feel like I never left. Shit goes down around here that wouldn’t happen anywhere else.” Sometimes he felt like New York was suffocating. “And it wasn’t this cold in some areas of Europe.”

 chessieabernathy‌:

Somewhere past the sunrise, Chessie hadn’t woken with feeling a common feeling of being both groggy and mildly hungover. The combination always warranted a warm cup of coffee to ease her into the day – Even with plenty of party guests sleeping all over her home thanks to the blizzard, she didn’t miss a beat. Having changed in a short robe, pulled close, she brewed a pot, leaning against the kitchen counter as she scanned the room. “Morning, sunshine,” she comments quietly, giving the new addition an arched brow. “Help yourself.” Chessie offers, nodding to the pot next to her.

Ben started feeling more comfortable around the apartment that he was intruding in. It had been a few weeks and he finally was deciding he could take most things without asking. The one problem was that Ben wasn’t a morning person. He’d much rather sleep in than have to get up. But for some reason, he was up. It took him at least an hour to wake up, another thirty minutes to be open to conversation, it was a whole process. Add in the fact that he was hungover and his face fucking hurt. Not to mention that getting to sleep was a whole process. Maybe it was all of the guilt that he had to live with. It had to be cold and he had to sleep in just his boxers. However, he always made sure he was decent when he went outside of the room that he and King shared. After he rubbed his eyes, adjusting to some light, he trekked to the kitchen. He looked at Chessie, giving her a hand to at least acknowledge her. “Stop being so loud,” He told her in a whisper. “It’s hurting my head.” Since when did he get hangovers? It was this American shit. He took some coffee before he looked back at her, “Do you think we can get out to the terrace for a quick smoke?” He asked, not knowing the extent of the snow from the blizzard.

monty-santos‌:

“Yeah, I guess.  If you say so,” Monty shrugged, even though he didn’t really feel like he was really that strong of a person. And while he knew that others would probably protest, it didn’t change the feeling.  “So clearly you went to France, anywhere else exciting you went while you were gone?” he asked, trying to get the subject off of him. 

“Oh yeah, I was all over the place. One of my favorite countries was Greece. Everything’s so modern yet not modern there,” He said, trying to sound like he was cultured. “I went all around the EU, I’m surprised we didn’t run into each other. I ran into King in Italy, like what were the odds of that? I really think that being abroad changes you, in a good way, of course.”

quinnxarchibald‌:

“I dunno, called me? Sent me a facebook message? Something!” Quinn replied, throwing his hands in the air in frustration and surrender. “Why? Why did you come back for me? Wasn’t leaving bad enough?” He snapped. “You had your life over in Europe, why throw that away?” He then asked, hating that Ben wasn’t looking at him. Hating that this was what their relationship had become. He needed answers though and couldn’t wait for Ben to be ready to talk.

“I don’t use social media and I didn’t know if your number was the same,” It was a lame excuse but he figured it was also better to talk to him in person. “Because I screwed you over, Quinn. That’s why. I fucked your life up,” He admitted, “That night... what I asked you to do, it’s all I can think about.” It was eating him up inside. It took months and months of convincing. He knew that talking to Quinn was eventually going to happen. He just didn’t want to do it at a party.

oatanas‌:

After having been out of town on a business trip the last two weeks, O was in desperate need of a night off. The crowd of people in her house was less than ideal (she always preferred to be a party goer, rather than a party host) but she tried not to dwell on that. “Just so you’re aware, if you spill that on my white rug I will kill you,” she remarked, topping up the glass of the guest in question, only half joking.

He thought he was a pretty great house guest so far. Ben always took his shoes off when he entered. So when he requested a drink and basically got reprimanded, he wanted to at least give a sassy remark back. That’s what people did around here. However, he knew better. He was just lucky he had a place to stay. “I can hold my liquor, don’t worry,” Alcohol tasted different overseas and felt a lot more strong, “I’ll be willing to act as security for this party if you’d like. Even one glance at this rug, and they’re out of here.” He was only half joking as well. He’d do it to show his gratitude. “How was your trip?” Ben asked, trying to make conversation.

chessieabernathy‌:

There was no way for them to go about this conversation without any tension, or the obligatory awkwardness. How could they? At least he wasn’t trying to bring up New Years, wasn’t tryin to make her talk to him about the hospital, rehab, or anything in between. A shoulder shrugged as he questioned her, not bothering to give him an actual, complete answer. She’s quite for another moment as he speaks, taking another inhale. Chessie remains quiet for a moment too long, but doesn’t dawn on it – Instead, she wordlessly pulls a cigarette from the pack, handing it to him without turning to him. “I think s’the first good idea you’ve had in a while.” She finds herself say, glancing over to him as she exhales. 

Are you coming back soon? Chessie looks away as he questions her, a sad look finding her face. “No,” She isn’t happy about the answer – Living with O, King, and Ben had been fun, and she’d come to enjoy the mornings where she and Ben shared a pack of cigarettes and sipped on coffee. Moving in with Wren, however, felt like a decent enough idea – Surely one that would make it a bit easier to stay sober, given that he barely even touches wine. “The movers took everything to my brother’s, I’m going to be staying there for a while.”

Good ideas. Yeah, he wasn’t full of very many good ideas. Now bad ideas, that’s where he flourished. Ben took the lighter out and quickly lit the cigarette. Smoking was a habit he had especially when he felt nervous or uncomfortable. It occupied his mouth, giving it something to do. “Something you should know about me is that I never really have good ideas. If I suggest something in the future, it’s always best to say no to me.” He said with a shrug. It was something he just accepted at this point. Or maybe he just had bad luck. That could be a possibility too. 

His lips formed a frown as he listened to her explain. Was she ever going to be coming back? Who even knew if he’d still be here by the time she got back. “It’s different without you there,” He admitted,  “And I’m not sure if it’s just because King is really mad at me or because you were the reason we all got along without any hiccups.” He exhaled some smoke, before looking at her. “I’m sure you’ve heard this from just about everyone but I’m glad you’re okay. It’s good to see you.” 

chessieabernathy‌:

Central Park was simply an excuse for her to get ‘fresh air’ and sneak a couple cigarettes. Wren’s home was cozy, and he’d done all he could to make her feel welcome – But the security FREYA had close by, and permanent knots in her stomach didn’t help her relax. She’d managed to get out, a body guard turned ‘sober coach’ following close behind, making sure she was doing what she said she would. An all too familiar voice pulled her from the trance she’d fallen into – Staring into the lake, chain smoking. Trying not to get caught up in her own guilt. Turning her head, she frowned at the sight of him, before moving to face the lake once more. “Sounds like a shitty idea.” 

Ben Vanderbilt was one of the last people Chessie wanted to see. She hadn’t spoken to him since the party – Using the word ‘overdose’ was something she reserved for her doctor, rather than her own vocabulary – and was hoping she’d have some time recoup before running into him again. He had been part of it all, happily joined in when she brought the idea up. Chessie still felt responsible for it, as if she’d peer pressured him into joining her and Arlo, rather than him asking to join. She didn’t know anything that happened after – Heard snippets about who had been arrested, mostly details skewed by gossip magazines and tabloids. Ben had been arrested. She felt guilty for that, too.

Nothing horrible was supposed to happen that night. They were just supposed to get high and enjoy New Year’s Eve. “Are you just going to turn down any ideas I have? Because that’ll save us a lot of time.” He pointed out. He wanted to ask how she was. After what happened, he was very concerned about her wellbeing. At least she wasn’t a ghost or anything. Her OD sparked a trigger in his brain, to the night that guy did the same thing but his fate wasn’t as lucky as hers. He was no good around here, his thought process was always fucked up around here. 

“How about you give me a cigarette and that way we’ll have to stand here for a few minutes at least,” He suggested. Being around O’s place without Chessie was weird. He was used to their morning talks over coffee and smoking. Now that place felt a lot quieter without her, but that was probably also because the other two women living with him were pissed. “I’m not used to having my morning coffee without you. “Are you going to come back soon?” He asked for his own selfish reasons. 

arlovasquez‌:

“It wasn’t too busy when I was there. Or if it was, I don’t think anyone was going to push me around because I must have looked really deep in thought.” He chuckled. “I’m a firm believer that the Mona Lisa was actually da Vinci on drag. I don’t know why I believe that, but I do.”

They probably really thought you were taking a good review of the painting. Little did they know you were just high as fuck,” He joked. “What did he even look like? I always pictured him with a really long beard.” Ben said with a shrug, not that he thought of da Vinci a lot in the first place. “Is that a real theory? Honestly, I don’t even know why a portrait’s so famous.” 

quinnxarchibald‌:

Not knowing what to say, Quinn shook his head. There were so many emotions running through his head but no real words were forming. It was all just angerbetrayalfear mixing together into something dangerous. “How could you think it wouldn’t fuck things up Ben? It was me for god’s sake. The Archibald golden boy.” Quinn let out an angry sigh, resisting the urge to stomp his foot in frustration. “So you left. You ran away and let me face my parents, the media, the courts, and rehab all on my own. How kind of you.”

Ben furrowed his brows, the anger inside of him building up. He was only mad at himself. He only had a right to be mad at himself. He felt like there wouldn’t have been as many consequences if Quinn took the fall. They’d both escape unscathed. He was extremely wrong, however. “I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking straight,” He admitted. Quinn had a squeaky clean reputation compared to him. Had was the keyword. “I didn’t want to leave you to do all that shit on your own. I just didn’t know what else to do,” The guilt that Ben had after watching a man OD in front of him, unable to help, was something that was incomparable. He watched a human life leave a body. “I know it sounds bad, but...” His voice faded, realizing he shouldn’t turn this onto himself. “I should’ve just had your back,” Why couldn’t he just tell Quinn he was sorry? Why was this so hard? “I don’t know what happened.”

wrenabernathy‌:

Wren knew the appropriate response was to say he’d prefer beer, but he didn’t. And, when he was feeling fine he could easily just agree with what he should like best and leave it at that, but when he was stressed he slid into type A personality overdrive and he followed his daily schedule even tighter than usual. “I’d have to go with the milk, actually,” he said, but then gave an apologetic smile to the other - letting him know non-verbally that he wasn’t trying to be a buzzkill on purpose. “Anyway, uhm - Chessie told me you’ve been holed up here for the past few weeks. How’s that going? Did she and Ophelia drive you crazy yet?”

What was with no one around here liking beer? He just figured that he was extremely cultured compared to the rest of them. “You’d voluntarily drink milk? Only nutcases do that,” He added. “Are they supposed to be driving me crazy? I’ve tried to not be too much of an intrusion on them since this is their place.” Ben tried to be as respectful as he could in their penthouse. He felt like an intrusion less now but O still scared him a bit. He was getting along with Chessie pretty well. “I’m just thankful for a bed and some coffee in the morning. Your sister’s a pretty good house host.”