It Had Been A Full Week Since Salem Arrived Into Town. She'd Been Keeping Busy Exploring Around The Various

kianalede: Somebody fix my strap pls

"listen i know i tend to drink a lot but i do remember the important things." she said sarcastically. as she grabbed a fork from leon she shook her head, "no, i was waiting to be with you when i tried it. that way if it was gross i could give you hell for hyping it up so much." she teased while plating the food for the both of them. it felt like how things used to be back home with leon. she loved going out and traveling but most of her favorite nights were spent at their apartment with him and stevie. the thought of how things used to be made her a bit sad at how badly she'd messed it all up. "we should eat on the balcony. it's not too hot out tonight and i've been dying to see the view in person."

the nickname doesn't go unnoticed and a wave of nostalgia hits him. it's been a while since he's heard the word blondie. flashing images of their life back in new york speed through his head. the late-night conversations, drinks in bars, fucking in the car, her beautiful face when she's just woken up. "i did, didn't i?" he chuckles softly as he opens the container and the smell of pastel de choclo invades the kitchen. "i'm guessing you haven't tried it then." the man grabs two plates and silverware from the cupboard on the wall in front of them. maybe he's stalling. he doesn't want to have the inevitable conversation. it's looming upon them, like an elephant in the room. but for fuck's sake, leon doesn't want to burst this bubble.

Kate Chopin, from The Awakening

"unfortunately my black cat stevie is so territorial and eats up so much of my attention that even if i could ethically own a real flamingo, she wouldn't allow it. she's basically my landlord at this point." she teased before giving birdie a playful nudge. the comment about the dominguez-herreras made her giggle. "funny enough i actually have. guess they're rubbing off on me." she smiled and gave birdie a reassuring nod at the choice of necklace. "that's actually perfect for you! the color suits your personality, you're like human sunshine. it'll be my birthday gift to you and anything else you come across here that you may want." salem had a habit of spoiling the people in her life but she didn't mind it, plus birdie had been such a great friend to salem in the short time they'd known one another.

birdie stops herself from apologizing again — old people pleasing habits die hard, and it takes them a moment of opening and closing their mouth before their brain catches up, “ okay — fine, but you know that’s hard for me. i think it would look cute !  i’d say you could get a real flamingo, but that just seems cruel. “ eyes widen for a moment as she looks at salen, a little nervous laugh falling past her lips, “ you been hanging out with the dominguez-herreras recently ? that’s a them thing to do. “ which birdie can rock with, in the event it’s not their own blood. a pause, “ i like amethyst, it’s pretty. buuut — what about this one — ? “ birdie holds up a little citrine necklace, the bright yellow color stunning in the light, “ it matches your amethyst one, even the shape. so they’ll represent us both ! “

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.

"so you basically have to pick a class for your character? it's not something that's already set in stone? interesting..." salem replied as she looked over the page a bit puzzled. when she randomly decided to learn how to play dungeons and dragons she didn't realize just how much had gone into it and had to give drew props for knowing so much. "the weird ten sided dice confuses me a bit. how often should you be rolling? would i potentially get sent to jail for speeding like in monopoly? that's really the only board game i've ever played so it's probably not the best comparison." she let out a small chuckle and nodded. "i love kettle corn but i'm not sure if i've ever told you that so don't feel too bad about it." salem smiled reassuringly. "i haven't had a chance to try the churros here but i've heard leon talk about them before. are they really that good?"

when drew first met salem, he never would have been able to guess that their futures would be entwined at all, so sitting with her at his favorite place in chile while she asks him about dungeons and dragons of all things feels like a level of surreal that he's never before experienced except for during a twin peaks marathon. "let's just focus on one character for now," he suggests, sliding a page across the table. "if you want to be an elf than we can go right to your character's class, which is sort of just their job. the basic ones are fighter, wizard, cleric, rogue, and ranger. we're gonna need to roll later, too," drew announces, showing salem the dice he's been fidgeting with for hours now. "and probably some snacks. have you tried the churros here in chile yet ? do you like kettle corn ? i can't remember if i know that you like kettle corn," he confesses to her, frowning apologetically.

"you mean to tell me this entire time i didn't have to pay you to get encouraging words from you?" salem teased as esme sat down in the seat across from her while quickly making space for the other. "i promise you're never intruding on me. i don't mind one bit! plus it gives us a chance to catch up somewhere else that isn't a dimly lit bar for once right?" she chuckled before taking a sip of her coffee. salem nodded as esme spoke about what she'd been up to, a bit taken back that her favorite bartender was no longer at los fantasmas. "wait you're at catch now?! any reason specifically or did you need a change of scenery?" she asked curiously. "i'll come to any bar to see you, that's never an issue. i've dealt with worse people before."

                ꒰ა   ♡  ໒꒱  --—  "  you  know,  i'm  proud  of  you.  and  i  can  promise  i  mean  it,  because  i'm  saying  it  without  you  giving  me  money.  "  esme  sends  salem  a  smile,  settling  into  the  chair  across  from  her.  she  sets  her  back  on  the  lone  third  chair  —  she  figures  she'll  be  here  for  a  while,  might  as  well  get  cozy.  "  do  you  mind  me  sitting  with  you  for  a  bit  ?  i  don't  wanna  intrude.  just  glad  to  see  you  alive  and  not  a  corpse  in  your  house,  y'know  ?  "  the  ribbing  is  gentle,  and  she  nods  while  sipping  her  coffee.  "  needed  a  recharge  —  trust  me,  i  get  it,  you  don't  have'ta  be  sorry.  i'm  good,  actually  !  oh,  that  reminds  me  —  got  a  new  job.  i  work  exactly  one  day  a  week  at  catch  now,  so  you're  gonna  have  to  make  the  trek  out  if  you  wanna  see  me.  i  understand  if  not,  though,  sometimes  those  people  suck.  "

the thought of everclear made salem shudder a bit in disgust. "everclear? is that even legal to serve inside a bar to actual living people?" she said with confusion before shrugging. truthfully she'd take anything at this point. "i trust whatever concoction you come up with. i just need to not feel how i'm feeling right now which is a lot of guilt and a just a little bit of shame." she wasn't proud at leaving the way she did that morning but she was a little embarrassed that she had to get absolutely wasted to talk to him. salem listened to esme and nodded. she was right at it being different considering leon was her ex-whater. "i have no idea what i'm going to do about it.." pausing for a moment before taking the drink from esme. "but i do think it'll be smart to stay far far away from him until i figure it out right?"

             oh,  okay,  they're  starting  off  strong  today. esme  blinks  for  a  moment  before  nodding,  turning  to  look  at  the  various  bottles  of  alcohol  behind  her  and  cringing  a  bit,  "  i  could  give  you  just  straight  everclear,  but  i  would  think  you'd  want  to  ...  enjoy  it,  no ? "  an  everclear  cocktail  sounds  disgusting,  so  esme  decides  she'll  put  some  flavored  moonshine  in  something  pretty  and  get  salem  fucked  up  the respectable way.  her  eyebrows  raise  a  bit  at  the  start,  though  by  the  end  of  salem's  sentence  she's  shrugging,  "  i  mean  –  no ? i  don't  stay  longer  than,  like,  seven  am  with  any  hookup  i  have.  that's  weird.  "  a  pause.  she  shouldn't  be  the  pinnacle  of  advice  for  this,  "  it  ... might be  different  when  it's  your  ex-boyfriend-it's-complicated-weird-thing,  though.  what're  you  gonna  do  about  it ? "

"the mallory jade getting on her knees and begging for forgiveness would be a wild sight. imagine the commotion it would cause online." salem teased before taking a sip of her coffee. "staying out of trouble? for some reason i don't believe you. there's got to be more." she found it hard to believe mallory hadn't been up to anything interesting since they last saw one another. the pair was wild but the other was typically always up to something. "the song?" salem said enthusiastically. "it's called honey and it's pretty much done. i think i'm gonna leave it real stripped down and acoustic and release it like that. i wrote it about that girl i was telling you about." it was refreshing for salem to talk about working on new music again without any pressure surrounding it. "i was struggling for the longest time but now i have all these feelings i need to work through you know? i'm just trying to sort through everything i'm feeling in a healthy way. speaking of which we need a collab."

"I know but I feel like it." Mallory pouted, returning the reassuring gesture by briefly squeezing Salem's hand. "Seriously, I feel like I need to get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness. And you know I don't just do that for anyone." She listened as Salem shared about how she spent her time. Mallory admired her friend's resilience and humor in the face of it all. "I'm fine. Been staying out of trouble which is surprising given my history." Mallory teased, trying to lighten up the mood. She wasn't going to unpack her feelings not without knowing her oldest friend was clearly going through something bigger than she was. "But enough about me, tell me more about this music you've been writing. I'd love to hear all about it. I feel like it's been too long since you've released a song."

salem, what's your dream date?

“why? do you know someone who wants to take me on one?”