"listen I Know I Tend To Drink A Lot But I Do Remember The Important Things." She Said Sarcastically.

status: closed for @vroyales // leia

after spending some time on the tilt-a-whirl and wandering around the grape maze salem convinced leia to tag along with her to the petting zoo. she was shamelessly enjoying every moment of it despite all the kids running around and crowding the area. "there's no way i can leave here without taking one home with me. it isn't fair." salem said while holding the piglet in her arms and gently petting it. "i mean, i could literally just put her in my tote bag right now and go home. do you think anyone would notice?"

"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.

when salem left sariyah for a moment to go take a call from her mother in the bedroom it seemed like the other had everything under control in the kitchen. she came over to hang out with salem at her rental and said she'd found a recipe online she wanted to try. while salem chatted away with her mom on facetime she started to smell something burning and the blaring of the smoke alarm proceeded soon after. "uh- i have to go mom. i think something is one fire." she said a bit confused before hanging up and rushing into the smoke filled kitchen. "oh shit! okay..." she exclaimed while trying her best not to panic, it didn't wouldn't help any if the two of them were freaking out. salem noticed the stove and oven were already turned off (smart move on sariyah's part) before she proceeded to open up the balcony door to air some of the smoke out. "it's okay! we just need some ventilation in here. is your arm okay? did you get burned?" she was a bit flustered as she opened the oven door to let the smoke out. "we should probably step out on the balcony for a bit, yeah?"

status / open , ( @valpostart ) location / either her place or the other muses place teehee !

               the   soup   on   the   stove   was   boiling   to   the   point   of   bubbles,   which   she   could've   sworn   her   tutorial   said   would   happen.   (   specifically,   it   said   a   slow   boil   but   what   was   happening   then   was   more   like   the   race   of   the   jets   in   a   hot   tub   producing   bubbles   ).   any   confidence   in   her   meal   was   quickly   washed   out   by   the   pop   of   the   soup   pot   boiling   over.   but   that   only   seemed   to   be   the   catalyst.   as   she   reached   for   the   knobs   to   turn   everything   off,   ignoring   the   burn   of   being   splashed   by   the   liquid   battling   to   get   out,   smoke   began   to   peak   out   of   the   oven.   when   the   wailing   of   the   alarm   started,   her   own   surprised   scream   matched   its   pitch   as   she   backed   away   from   everything.   "   i   don’t   know   what   i   did   !   "   she   exclaimed   as   she   heard   the   rushing   of   footsteps   entering   the   kitchen   and   raised   her   hands   if   in   surrender.   sariyah   couldn’t   pinpoint   where   she   went   wrong.   perhaps   the   smoke   pooling   out   from   the   oven   like   it   was   a   magician’s   trick   was   an   accumulation   of   many   mistakes.   if   she’s   asked,   however,   she   couldn’t   tell   you   what   those   missteps   looked   like.   “   what   did   i   do   ?   what   do   i   do   ?   i   don’t   know   !   i   didn’t   mean   to   !   ”   embarrassment   overtook   her   as   she   looked   to   the   other   in   the   room   probably   wondering   the   same   thing   she   was   :   what   the   hell   happened   ?

"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.

closed- for @bvlladonnas // esme location - los fantasmas

"if i ask you to make me the strongest drink you guys have here you promise not to ask any questions right?" salem said a bit stressed as she sat down at the bar. she was relieved to see esme was working tonight, spilling her guts to locals would probably be a new low for her. "i did something kinda bad to leon...again." regretfully that was becoming a reoccurring theme in her life. "does it count as ghosting if you just leave early in the morning without saying goodbye? or am i really just a horrible person? i'm the worst aren't i?" she let out a groan before resting her head on her arms.

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?"

when salem told luna she wanted to get out of the house and explore she didn't anticipate a shopping binge at the street market. despite luna's despair about whatever they had going on being able to reunite with them was exactly what salem needed, it was comforting to know that she had someone familiar in valpo that didn't resent her at the moment. "you know you could just talk to me about it right?" she flashed them a smile in response to the comment about the necklace. salem placed her bags down and began rummaging through her totebag. "i know my life is a mess at the moment but you may need this more than me." she shook her head while pulling a black obsidian stone out of her bag. "wallowing isn't on the agenda for today but if i have to sage you from head to do in the middle of this street market i will. im fully armed."

               the   walk   was   meant   to   be   good   for   them.   a   good   time   with   an   old   friend,   the   sun   on   her   skin,   breathing   in   fresh   air;   it   all   was   meant   to   make   her   feel   better.   and   for   a   short   while,   it   had   worked   !   then   they   passed   by   a   couple   of   buskers   playing   lo   hice,   te   dijé   and   luna   was   reminded   why   they   were   dragged   out   of   their   bedroom   in   the   first   place.   "   daniel,   me   estas   mantando   that's   why   !   "   it   was   their   favorite   band   after   all.   who   hardly   tour.   and   who   decided   to   go   on   tour   smack   dab   in   the   middle   of   their   finals,   and   filming   of   '   klara   and   the   sun   '   meaning   that   she   wouldn't   be   attending   any   shows.   meaning   they   were   in   utter   despair.   "   this   is   really   pretty   by   the   way,   it'll   look   great   on   you.   "   they   pointed   at   a   necklace   in   salem's   ever   growing   pile.   though   their   tone   made   it   hard   to   believe,   luna   really   did   mean   it.   they   were   just   dramatic,   and   couldn't   muster   up   the   enthusiasm   for   the   words   because   her   soul   was   crushed.   "   how   much   longer   until   i   can   go   back   to   wallowing   ?   i   love   to   wallow   "

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?"

"shut up." she said playfully at his compliment. salem was surprised at how leon still managed to get her flustered with his words and overall presence. they'd known each other for what felt like forever and her feelings for him completely consumed her in certain moments, this one being one of them. she chuckled at his question "did i make this? no, you're giving me way too much credit now blondie." salem didn't think to make the dish from scratch which probably would have been a nicer gesture in retrospect. "i found this place when i was out a couple days ago having lunch with a friend and saw they had it on the menu. so i figured i'd surprise you with some, i remember you used to talk about it all the time back home in new york." she smiled up at him for a moment, quickly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

leon listens to salem, without interrupting her. the musical genius comment causes him to blush a little, and he watches her set his favorite chilean dish on the kitchen counter. did she make it? when she mentions she's sober, the man nods. her laugh, even her nervous laughter, he thinks it's cute. "you're such an idiot," leon ends up chuckling himself before walking up to her. each step that he takes, he takes it blindly. because he would let her break his heart a million times if it just meant that they'd always go back to each other. he's so in love. he's so hurt. "you actually clean up really nice," the blond teases her, standing so close to her that his heart rate goes up. he can't stop looking at her. his hand on the counter, next to hers, wanting to touch her but unable to do so. the love of his life. eventually, leon looks down at the food, "did you make this?" he asks softly.